God’s will for our lives is to see us transformed into the likeness of Jesus—to become people who walk more and love more like Jesus Himself. Elsewhere, Paul says God predestined us to be adopted as sons through Christ and chose us to be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1). God’s will for us is transformation.
Maybe God cares about who we are becoming more than what we are specifically doing.
The transformation that Jesus brings about makes us more fully alive. It makes us more human. When we are more fully alive, becoming all that God envisions we can be, suddenly we start walking through life lock-step with God and His will. It is precisely when we focus on God’s desire to transform us that He teaches us how to walk through the uncertainty of where we are going. The result is the temporary uncertainty of this life becomes far less important in light of the eternal trajectory we are now focused on. We walk toward Christ through doubt, through struggles, through confusion, through unanswered prayers and through our relentless desire to simply know where every moment of our lives will end up. We don’t know everything—we don’t know the specific job, home, spouse, school, friends, challenges or callings our lives may entail—but we know the one thing necessary.
“God doesn’t give us clarity, son.”
God certainly gives us glimmers of clarity and an assurance that we are where He wants us to be—but that doesn’t mean we suddenly become omniscient. Our knowing always remains in part, leaving us weak and dependent. In other words, embracing our finitude and limited understanding is exactly where God wants us to be so that our strength is in Him and not ourselves.
But this wanting to know how things will play out lingers in the recesses of my mind. Perhaps it’s because I am easily fixated on what I’m doing rather than on who I’m becoming. Without a doubt, when someone asks what God’s will is for their lives, they really mean, “What does God want me to do with my life?” They assume there is some direct Batline to the Holy Spirit to answer that question or that there’s a trick to knowing God’s will.
What If Things Don’t Seem To Be Working?
GALATIANS 6:9 ESV
9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
What should you do when it seems like God has forgotten you and you are about to perish?
Act on God’s Word! Speak to the mountain! Rejoice in the Lord! Stand in faith! Continue to thank God! Expect God’s help! Don’t ever give in or give up!
Realize God is not the problem. God is perfect. He never fails and never makes a mistake. God is helping you as much as you are allowing Him.
You probably do need to change some things. After all, none of us are perfectly mature yet. We are all learning and growing.
But don’t make the mistake of putting yourself down and accepting the devil’s idea that you are so hopeless that nothing can work out for you.
God will gently guide you in making whatever changes you need to make. God is there to help you, not to condemn you.
If it does not seem like things are working out, then your faith is being tested. But God is not testing your faith, it is the devil. The purpose of this testing is to get you to turn loose of your faith — to change what you believe.
So just keep on doing what you know is right. Don’t change your beliefs about God. He is still good. Keep trusting Him. Keep believing that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him — that it pays to walk with God (Hebrews 11:6).
We should not be surprised at a fiery trial of faith. The Bible warned us these things would come.
1 PETER 4:12 ESV
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.
Jesus said there would be tribulation. He told us we would be persecuted.
We are also warned that we must “hold fast” to our confession. We must continue to stand in faith, regardless of what hits us.
HEBREWS 4:14 ESV
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
HEBREWS 10:23 ESV
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
If we always perfectly understood everything that was happening, there would be no temptation to doubt.
We are still growing and learning so we don’t yet understand everything. But just because we don’t understand what is happening is no reason to doubt God, His Word, and His goodness.
SAY THIS: Even in the dark, I will still trust God, for He is good and never fails.
Really needed this today!
