Determining God's Will in My Life-Part 2

This has been a difficult post for me to compose. There are so many interesting angles to consider and it is such a personal topic-I hope these posts spark some discussion and that I can learn where others agree and disagree.

In the end my biggest complaint is that I can't seem to organize my thoughts. It doesn't fit in a logical bulleted list, if you will. So forgive me if I meander, but I will share my thoughts on discerning God's will in our lives. It might take me a few posts, I don't know...we'll see where it leads...

A Christian's Cop-Out

Law of attraction teachers do not usually focus very much on discerning and living God’s will. The focus usually tends to be more about creating the life you want and having everything you desire. But for those of us who love and trust God, we want to do His will so much more than we want to follow our own wants and passions.

The danger for those so committed to His will comes if we immobilize ourselves and stop actively creating our lives as we passively wait for ‘His will to be done.’ Or we might accept that everything that comes our way is His will, without questioning and thinking for ourselves.

In his October 2006 conference address, Elder David A. Bednar said,

As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon.

It is our duty, then to learn His will (a process in and of itself,) and then to create in our lives what He wills for us. This is where the greatest power to create lies: when we are in alignment with His will, and working to create it in our lives.

In attempting to discern God’s will in our lives, the first mistake most of us make throughout this process is assuming too much. And too much of what we assume about what God desires for us is negative.

Sometimes we even push away the good He wants to bless us with in a mixed up attempt to live His will. An interesting book on this topic is, “The Millionaire from Nazareth”. This book is a thought provoking treatise on the biases many Christians have about Jesus Christ and money.

We must be careful that our supposed ‘accepting of His will’ is not just a cop out, freeing us from the accountability of creating good in our lives. (This topic is addressed in my post: "Is this God's will or am I sabotaging?")

As a general rule I believe it is God’s will that we have health, wealth, and fulfilling relationships. When we have those things we are better able to serve our fellow beings. This is important to note because so many of us waste so much time wondering if God really wants good things for us. Study Matthew 7:7-12 if you aren’t sure you believe that.