Many of us are on a search for God’s will for our lives. We want to know what His plans for us are. We want to know what our purpose is. We want to know when we are going to have all the promises of God for a great life that we have heard about for so long. When, when, when, we ask. Well I believe that for some of us we are failing to look at the present time and may have the wrong perspective on what God’s will or our purpose really means. We think that it is suppose to be some huge accom0plishment, big platform, high position in the church, or a international ministry. We may think that until we are of some kind of great importance to the world that we are not being used by God, living out His will for us, or are living out our purpose, but that is far from the truth. His will for us starts with the condition of our heart and our character. It starts with what is going on within us. And it also starts with our relationship with Him. His work always starts in us before He can work through us and it is the most important work of all. We can’t expect to be the biggest Christian influencer, have the biggest church or ministry, or do some kind of great work for God if we have hatred, envy, or pride in our hearts. So being in His will for us starts with us following His guidance. His purpose for us is always in the moment, following His direction. Having His promises for our lives starts with submitting to His ways. And His will and purpose for us is always in the present moment, not just when we have achieved success.

We can stop God’s will for us. We can prolong it. We can live outside of our purpose by our own actions or lack of. We let our own thoughts and feelings keep us out of His will for us and from fulfilling our purpose. It is the day to day guidance of the Holy Spirit that we need to focus on when it comes to His will for us and for fulfilling our purpose. It’s not when we are successful that puts us in His will or purpose for our lives. Matter of fact, we will never be able to be successful until we learn to submit to His guidance. That is part of what being in His will for us is all about. It is living by His guidance and direction in our every day lives. That is the only way that we can know that we are in His will for us. And what He has for me will be different than what He has for you, but what can keep us both from His will is often the same things.

If we let our thoughts and feelings control our actions we will miss out on His will for us. If we let how we think things should go, how we feel about it, or the desire to do what needs to be done dictate our actions to follow through then we will miss so much of God’s will and purpose for us. This life that is available to us through Jesus requires us to live life on and for a purpose, meaning that I have to make choices to do what needs to be done, when and how it needs to be done (Ephesians 5:14-17). We have to stop wanting things to be easy and simple or to happen in the blink of an eye. Nothing is to hard for us to do and we can do anything that God directs us to do if we do not let our thoughts and feelings get in the way.

If we want the good things of life and the things that God wants to do through us we have to participate with Him. We have to do the things that we know we should do and the things that we feel lead to do. The Holy Spirit can’t work in or through us if we are not willing to take the action. He can give us all the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, direction, and information that we need to do a thing but it can only get done by us taking the action and accom0plishing it. How can we expect to be in God’s will or living out His purpose for our lives if we aren’t doing what we know we need to do or are being lead to do. God can be trying to fulfill a dream of ours, prosper our work, advance our career, fulfill a prayer, or make a change in us that will cause us to be the happiest, healthiest, and most fulfilled that we have ever been but if we don’t take action, put forth the effort, and follow His direction then His will for us can’t be accomplished.

So being in God’s will for us starts with doing what we are being lead to do today. His purpose for us is, partly, living by His guidance so that we are at our best at all times. Because He knows what the process has to be in order for us to fulfill our ultimate life’s purpose we have to follow His direction so that we can be in His will for us on a daily basis. It’s not only about the end result, it’s about the journey to get there. If we only focus on the end result we will over look the fact that we are living in His will for us when we are living our daily lives by being lead by His guidance. Therefore, the next time that you wonder what God’s will for you is, ask yourself am I doing what the Holy Spirit is directing me to do? If you are following His guidance and direction then you are in His will for you.