Determining God's Will in My Life, Part 1

A reader's comment has sparked this blog. After reading, "Is this God's will, or am I sabotaging?", the reader asked, "How do you determine and discover Gods will? How do you keep from injecting your own desires and wants into that discovery?"

My mind keeps going in two directions as I consider this question, so this post will come in two parts. To those who love God, this first post is just a reminder of what we already know and desire. The second will explore the more complex aspects of discerning God's will.

Time With God
Some of the components to my ability to discern God's will are specific to my religious beliefs, but most can be applied to any and all of us who love God and seek to do His will, regardless of religious affiliation. I reference a most helpful talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a leader in my church, called, "Be Ye Not Deceived".

I will include several quotes from this talk that are guidelines to me in keeping the connections between God and myself as open and clear as possible.

"Now I wish to speak about how each of us can avoid being deceived on matters of eternal importance. I have two texts. The first is what Paul taught Timothy after giving him the warning I quoted earlier. Continue in the things you have learned and been assured of, he wrote, “knowing of whom thou hast learned them” (2 Tim. 3:14). In other words, you have been taught righteousness and assured of its truth, so stay with it. Continuing, Paul reminded his young friend “that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation” through faith in our Savior (2 Tim. 3:15). Hold fast to the scriptures, whose teachings protect us against evil."

Spending time daily in God's word is essential to understanding and determining His will in my life. He speaks to me through the words I am reading, but also between the words with the thoughts that come into my mind and the feelings that come into my heart during these quiet moments. It is not easy to make time for this, but most rewarding, and one of my highest priorities.

Hand in hand with spending time in His word is taking the time to record thoughts and feelings that come to me during this time.

Clean Hands and a Pure Heart
"It is not enough to have received the truth. We must also “have taken the Holy Spirit for [our] guide” and “not [be] deceived.

How do we take the Holy Spirit for our guide? We must repent of our sins each week and renew our covenants by partaking of the sacrament with clean hands and a pure heart, as we are commanded to do (see D&C 59:8–9, 12). Only in this way can we have the divine promise that we will “always have his Spirit to be with [us]” (D&C 20:77). That Spirit is the Holy Ghost, whose mission is to teach us, to lead us to truth, and to testify of the Father and the Son (see John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:13; 3 Ne. 11:32, 36)."

In my religion, partaking of the sacrament weekly is an essential step in the repentance process. Whatever your process may look like, repenting, forgiving, having a clean and pure heart makes us a receptacle for God's truth and wisdom. Because of Christ's sacrifice, we can be made clean and whole in spite of our human weakness. We must partake of and receive that cleansing gift on a regular basis in order to best receive an understanding from Him of what He desires in our lives.

Living Right
"The Holy Ghost will protect us against being deceived, but to realize that wonderful blessing we must always do the things necessary to retain that Spirit. We must keep the commandments, pray for guidance, and attend church and partake of the sacrament each Sunday. And we must never do anything to drive away that Spirit. Specifically, we should avoid pornography, alcohol, tobacco and drugs, and always, always avoid violations of the law of chastity. We must never take things into our bodies or do things with our bodies that drive away the Spirit of the Lord and leave us without our spiritual protection against deception."

Although we are not able to live these standards perfectly all the time, I have found that the closer I am living to God's standards, the better I can hear and understand His will for my life. Course corrections are a frequent and welcome part of becoming more like Him.

A Willingness to Act
"To avoid being deceived, we must also follow the promptings of that Spirit...I will conclude by describing another subtle form of deception—the idea that it is enough to hear and believe without acting on that belief. Many prophets have taught against that deception. The Apostle James wrote, “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22).

By showing God that when we receive his word we consistently act on it, we qualify ourselves for further direction from Him.

A Way of Life
All of these patterns of living help set the stage for understanding God's will for us in our lives. Even when we are consistent about preparing fertile ground, it can still be a complex thing to know and live His will in our lives. Watch for the next post to further explore this concept.