7 Keys to Knowing God’s Will For Your Life

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If you’re reading this right now then God has a purpose for your life, whether you realize it or not. Your purpose is the reason you’re alive on this planet. If you’re not sure whether or not you have a purpose, stop for a moment and take a breath. If you’re breathing, you have a purpose. God has a specific plan and Will for your life.

So how can you know God’s Will for your life? When you find your purpose. When do you find your purpose? When you find it. Mind blowing, right? The point is you find it when you find it. Your purpose doesn’t find you. You have to be intentional to search for it, and this article will help you begin that incredible journey. The reason God’s Will can be so hard to find is because nothing worthwhile is easy, and the process of discovering your purpose actually enhances its value in your life. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” One of the greatest honors we have is to discover what God has concealed, including our purpose.

The reason so many people fail to discover God’s Will is because distraction is easy. Ultimately, God’s Will matters because we want our lives to matter. God promises in Jeremiah 29:11, “’I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord.” So how do you begin to discover God’s Will for your life? Here are seven keys to knowing God's Will.

Redeem Your Past

As long as you’re stuck in your past and chained to who you were before knowing God, you’ll never be able to move forward into your redemptive future. Redeeming your past isn’t just forgetting it. It’s redeeming it, finding value in even your greatest pain and heartache, because one of the things you’ll discover when you discover your purpose is that many times your greatest purpose comes from your greatest pain. You need to redeem your past. Acts 17:26-27 says, “God marked out our appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that we would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him.” Your past has a purpose, however painful it might be. See the purpose in your past and you’ll begin to see the purpose in your present.

Identify Your Personality

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Your parents or maybe a teacher might have told you, “Why can’t you be more like your brother or sister?” But you’re not. You’re who you are. Are you an introvert? An extrovert? Are you people oriented, task oriented? All of those help make you who you are, and you need to know your personality. Your design helps reveal your destiny. Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Utilize online tests that can help you discover your personality. Celebrate the person God uniquely hardwired you to be.

Discover Your Spiritual Gifts

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When you trust in Jesus and the Holy Spirit dwells in you, the Spirit gives you spiritual gifts, divine opportunities for you to make a difference in your world. You absolutely need to know what your spiritual gifts are because your personalized purpose is directly tied to your spiritual gifts. Romans 12:5-6 states, “So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” God gave you your specific spiritual gifts for a purpose, and discovering your spiritual gifts helps you discover your purpose. A website like www.spiritualgiftstest.com is a great place to begin discovering your spiritual gifts.

Look at the Opportunities Around You

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Discovering purpose is more than just taking a bunch of tests. It’s beginning to venture out and do some field-testing on what you think your purpose might be. What you’ll discover when you begin to look around is that God has divinely orchestrated the events and circumstances in your life to present you with opportunities for you to live your purpose. But you need to open your eyes and begin to see the circumstances around you. Jesus told his disciples in John 4:35, “Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” Too many Christians muddle their way through life, never lifting their eyes to see beyond their own two feet. Walk with eyes wide open and begin discerning the opportunities lying right in front of you.

Seek Wise Counsel

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This is so incredibly important. You might convince yourself that your divine purpose is to become a rocket scientist, but if you never finished high school, some outside counsel will help point out the flaws in your theory. Discovering purpose isn’t a solo mission. God has placed wise and discerning people in your life that can help you discover your purpose. So, ask them! Solomon, the wisest person to ever live, spoke more about seeking wise counsel than anyone else. Proverbs 19:20 says “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.” Proverbs 13:10 says, “Wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Everyone needs a few people who can speak wise counsel into their lives. Find those people and lean into them. They will help you discover and confirm your purpose.

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