Knowing God's Will For Your Life

By David Weir

Do you want to learn how to know what God's will is for your life?
Seeking God's guidance is a focus for many believers, and this book provides practical guidance on the subject of knowing God's will, different aspects of God's will and how to avoid the dangers awaiting those who live outside God's will.
"Knowing God's Will for your Life" is arranged into fifteen short chapters and covers topics such as: The Will of God in Prayer, the Will of God in Service and the Will of God in our Testimony to Others. It also focuses on how we can be certain that we know the will of God and what happens when we realise that we have made a decision that was not in the will of God. Readers who are interested in understanding how God guides us will find this practical and concise book to be very helpful.

The theme of 'knowing the will of God' is vast and often when it is taken up in written form, it loses the reader due to the scale and complexity of the subject. In contrast, David's thoughtful, concise style keeps the reader focused. The chapters are short, well arranged and targeted on a few verses. The reader will be able to read a chapter in a few minutes. The theme of the 'will of God' can also become technical in some of the literature, bamboozling the reader. Not here. This book is very practical, and the impact of this subject is forcibly brought to bear upon our daily lives. This is a book for Christians who wish to grow spiritually.

I heartily commend this book and pray that it will be widely used to bless the people of God that we 'may prove (put to the test and approve) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God' (Rom 12. 2). Craig Munro

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Ritchie Ltd
• Release date: Jun 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223878377

Book preview

Knowing God's Will For Your Life

David Weir

Published by John Ritchie Ltd, 2023.

Contents

Foreword

Chapter 1 — The Nature of the Will of God

Chapter 2 — The Will of God in His Eternal Purpose

Chapter 3 — The Will of God in Salvation

Chapter 4 — The Will of God in the Life of the Lord Jesus

Chapter 5 — The Will of God - our Sanctification

Chapter 6 — The Will of God in Prayer

Chapter 7 — The Will of God in Service

Chapter 8 — The Will of God in Testimony to Others

Chapter 9 — Signposts Which Direct to the Will of God

Chapter 10 — Conditions for Discovering the Will of God

Chapter 11 — The Certainty of Knowing the Will of God

Chapter 12 — When Others Reject the Will of God and it Therefore Cannot be Done

Chapter 13 — The Realisation that a Decision made was not the Will of God

Chapter 14 — The Effect of Doing the Will of God

Chapter 15 — The Effect of Not Doing the Will of God

Foreword

I had the privilege of hearing large parts of the contents of this book delivered in ministry meetings by our brother David Weir in Glencraig and can testify to the help it gave to me personally and to many others who form the assembly of believers in Glencraig. We are delighted it is now published and pray that it will benefit many, many others.

Not every book has universal appeal. However, this book is for every Christian. The subject of knowing God’s will and doing God’s will is the ultimate subject for all believers. We all want to know that what we are doing and saying is in the mind and will of God - for it is there that we will know true pleasure, be fully empowered and at peace.

The theme of ‘knowing the Will of God’ is vast and often when it is taken up in a written form, it loses the reader due to the scale and complexity of the subject. In contrast, David’s thoughtful, concise style keeps the reader focused. The chapters are short, well arranged and targeted on a few verses. The reader will be able to read a chapter in a few minutes. The theme of the ‘Will of God’ can also become technical in some of the literature, bamboozling the reader. Not here. This book is very practical and the impact of this subject is forcibly brought to bear upon our daily lives. This is a book for Christians who wish to grow spiritually.

The skill of the teacher is to make complex things simple, without dumbing-down the message and over-simplifying. This book is broad in its range of issues that it discusses under the title the ‘Will of God’. It particularly focuses on how we as Christians can discover the ‘Will of God’ in various aspects of our lives. David has spent long hours studying the vast range of verses that deal with this subject and has broken it down for us into digestible sections without losing any of the scholarly work that underpins it.

It is for these reasons that I heartily commend this book and pray that it will be widely used to bless the people of God that we ‘may prove (put to the test and approve) what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God’ (Rom 12.2).

Craig Munro

Chapter 1

THE NATURE OF THE WILL OF GOD

Romans 12.2

Generally speaking, the will of God can be viewed under the following aspects:

– What God does sovereignly according to His purpose and counsel, independently of man.

– What God desires to do through man, with his willing collaboration.

– What is clearly revealed in Scripture as being what He desires.

– What is not clearly revealed, but is part of His plan for an individual and has to be discovered by that individual.

What God does sovereignly

There are many ways in which God acts according to His will in a way which man has no control over. We can see this first of all in creation, which was accomplished entirely as God wanted it to be and according to His own power and wisdom. No human agency was involved in this process.

Moving on from there, Scripture reveals many things God did and does independently of the will of man and often contrary to it. We can take the following examples into consideration:

– The sending of events and circumstances which accomplish His will. The famine which arose in the time of Joseph, the plagues He brought upon the land of Egypt and the judgment which will fall upon this world in the future, are all examples of this.

– The arranging of circumstances in the life of a nation, family or individual which involves decisions made by other people, who unknowingly do so in such a way as to accomplish His purpose. A clear example of this can be found in Acts 2.23 concerning His will in the death of Christ: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Thus, while men are responsible for their decisions and actions, God is in control and uses these to the accomplishing of His will.

While what He does is independent of man, it usually involves a direct influence on his life and is often directly in relation to him. This is particularly the way we should view it as believers in the Lord Jesus. Such an outlook gives us strength and confidence in God in the often inexplicable circumstances that come into our lives, especially when these come as a result of the undesirable decisions or actions of others.

The above examples could be very largely expanded and delved deeper into, with much spiritual profit. Indeed, a whole book could be written about these subjects alone. It is outwith the scope of this study to further develop these aspects, but I have highlighted them for the purpose of our present consideration and to encourage a fuller awareness and recognition of the will of God in this important connection.

The practical implications of all this in our lives as believers are massive. So many things come into our lives that can bring joy, pleasure and fulfilment, or sorrow, suffering and disappointment. Recognising the will of God in things beyond our control can give peace and assurance in all circumstances, at the same time drawing out worship from our hearts to Him and creating a strong sense of dependence upon Him. Such an effect can only enhance our relationship with Him and will be conducive to our spiritual growth and development.

What God does through man

It is very often the case that God accomplishes His will through human agency. This can sometimes be realised through people who do not do it as a result of a conscious desire to be pleasing to God or even the knowledge that via their actions they are actually carrying out His will. The destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, the proclamation of Cyrus king of Persia regarding the return of the exiled Jews to build the house of God at Jerusalem and the decree given by Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed (which brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for the birth of the Saviour) are all examples of this. As interesting and true as this is, we will not dwell on this aspect.

God is most glorified in the accomplishing of His will through human agency when this is done as a willing act of obedience in response to His revealed desire. The life of the Lord Jesus on earth is the perfect example of this, which we will consider more fully in a later chapter. When God raised up David, He gave the following significant testimony concerning him: I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will (Acts 13.22). The exhortation of the apostle Paul to the believers in Ephesus who were slaves regarding their service for their masters includes the following important consideration: Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men (Ephesians 6.6-7).

The latter of these examples captures very nicely how the will of God should be ideally carried out. It should be quite obvious to us that this is the position we should adopt before God as those who desire to please Him. As we know His will and grow in the understanding of it, so we should seek to put it into practice out of a submissive will and an obedient heart. We can be sure that by doing so we will bring much glory to Him and find deep satisfaction in having done so, especially so when it has required a good measure of faith and has been to our personal cost.

What God has revealed in Scripture

Everything that God has given us in His Word shows us in many ways what His will is for us. There is no area of our lives which is not covered in some way in the canon of Scripture, whether it be through direct commandments, clear principles or obvious inferences from the example of those whose deeds are included in the divine revelation. Moreover, some matters are specifically stated as being the will of God, such as the one found in 1 Thessalonians 4.3; For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. Due to the direct reference to the will of God, this and other