How Can I Know the Will of God?

(Originally written for publication in The Tidings)

This question reminds me of a story that Brennan Manning tells in his book Ruthless Trust. The story is of an ethicist named John Kavanaugh who went to live with Mother Teresa in Calcutta. On his first morning Mother Teresa asked Kavanaugh, “What can I do for you?”
Kavanaugh replied, “Please pray that I get clarity for the future.”
Mother Teresa responded, “No! I will not do that . . .Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.”
“But you always seem to have clarity” was Kavanaugh’s reply.
Mother Teresa responded by saying, “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray you trust God.”

This story is a harsh reminder of how difficult it is for us to give up control; how difficult it is to allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives; how stubborn we are to trust.

Often times when this question is asked the real meaning behind the question is “How can I know God’s purpose for my life?” I have learned over the last five years that when we ask this question we define purpose as a dangling carrot. Purpose, as most of us understand it, is that carrot that hangs right in front of us that we will never be able to grasp. Here is what I mean. Purpose so often for us is about tomorrow. “What am I going to be or what should I be when I grow up?” For instance, my purpose in high school was to get to college. And my purpose in college was to get to seminary. And my purpose in seminary was to get into ministry. One thing always leads to another. Now I am in ministry. So, what is my purpose? Over the last five years I have learned that I will never reach my purpose as long as it is defined as tomorrow.

Pete Grieg in his book The Vision and The Vow writes this, “When Jesus calls us to follow Him, we want clarity: to assess our options, set expectations, and know our boundaries. But God’s route from A to C is rarely via B. His voice is rarely unmistakable. His word often raises more questions than answers. We ask for guidance expecting a roadmap, or at least a sign, and He gives us His hand and the dimmest of torches.”

However, God is clear on how he calls us to live in His word. God’s purpose and the will of God is found in every decision we make, every day.

The will of God for you and I is that we would trust Him. Everyday.
That we would worship Him. Everyday.
That we would love those who are unloveable. Everyday.
That we would feed the hungry, and care for the poor. Everyday.
It is to forgive those we love and those who have hurt us. Everyday.
To share the story of Jesus with those who have never heard, and those who think
they don’t need to hear. Everyday.
To seek justice. Everyday.
To love mercy. Everyday.
To walk humbly. Everyday.
To glorify God. Everyday.
And to make disciples. Everyday.
To love God with all our heart, mind and soul. Everyday.
And to love our neighbor as ourself. Everyday.

Pete Grieg says it well, “The problem for most of us is not that we don’t know what God wants of us. It’s that we know exactly what He wants of us, and it’s not what we want to do!”