Discovering God's Will (Part 1)

The pursuit of God's will for one's life is somewhat presumptuous. To think that the sovereign God of the universe would stop "spinning all His important plates" to lean down and ponder His will for my life seems almost unbelievable. Yet, in light of God's character and Word, the concept merits some attention. Andy Stanley has proposed that we break down God's will for our lives into three dimensions—His providential, moral, and personal will.

God's providential will speaks to what He has planned to do and will do; we simply pray for understanding. His moral will refers to what He has revealed to us in His Word; we don't pray about it, we simply obey. His personal will for our lives is what He wants us to specifically do; He reveals this to us as we surrender to his providential and moral will.

In Genesis, God's providential will was to bless the nations of the world. He revealed His moral will to Abraham (12:1 "Leave your family...go to a land I will show you") who surrendered, obeyed in faith, and as a result became the father of many nations.

Similarly, in Exodus, God's providential will was to rescue Israel out of Egyptian slavery. Moses submitted himself to God's moral will (3:10 "Go...lead my people out of Egypt") and re-discovered God's personal will for his life forty years after attempting to initiate it on his own terms (ie. killing an Egyptian taskmaster and attempting the next day to establish himself as leader over his people).

[In my next post, I will share how God lays a burden or passion on our hearts in light of his providential and moral will.]