Devotional: ‘What is God’s Will for My Life?’ (13 Oct 2019)

‘What is God’s will for my life?’

It’s a question that all Christians ask at one time or another. ‘Should I pursue this relationship?’, ‘Should I take this job?’, ‘Should I move there?’.

Sometimes we can treat God’s will like a puzzle which we must solve, and we get anxious about being ‘out of God’s will’ through the choices we make.

The truth is, God’s will for the life of every Christian is the same, it’s not that complicated either, and it’s unchangeable.

Romans 8:28-29 says,

‘And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.’ (Romans 8:28–29 ESV)

In other words, God’s predetermined will for the life every one of his people is to make them more like his son Jesus.

This moves the goalposts of our decision making. In areas of sin, the choice is obvious. Don’t sin; after all, Jesus wouldn’t!

But with most other things, the question isn’t ‘What is God’s will?’, it’s ‘Which choice will help me become more like Jesus?’ 

Sometimes this will be clear, and it may not be the most comfortable or easy choice either. Sometimes, as we apply Biblical wisdom, many choices might look like good options for helping us conform to Christ more. 

In this case, it’s comforting to remember that God is sovereign, and we can never be truly outside his will. After all, according to Romans 8, God loves us, he’s called us to his purpose, he’s predestined that we will be made like his Son, and he has promised to carry us through to glory (Romans 8:30). We can’t change that.


Live it: How does knowing God’s purpose for your life – to conform you to the image of Jesus – change the way you think about the choices you have to make? How does it comfort you? How might it change the way you pray about your choices?