Perhaps the question which most perplexes the serious Christians I have known is, “How do I know what God’s will is for my life?” This question is usually borne out of an unsettled sense that surely God did not call them to a life of the mundane.
I can identify. I’ve been zealous for the things of God since my first serious commitment to him at age 17. However, the circumstances of my life led me to a job as a delivery driver for UPS for 14 years. For most of that time, I felt like I was in one of those boxes just scratching to get out. There were times that I tried to force God’s hand like when I put our vehicle up for sale and then our house. In neither case did God allow the sale of the item in question. It was as if he wanted me to be a UPS man. In fact, that is just what he wanted.
God wasn’t nearly as worried that my talents were being wasted on delivering packages. He was too busy working on me to worry about what I was working on. During that time, I discovered that God’s will is as omnipresent as he is. I could perform his wil for me in any and every moment of my day.
Would you like to know his will for your life right now? Look at 1 Thess. 5:16-18: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” That’s right. It’s just that simple. Ironically, as I chased a sense of purpose, I fled the joy and gratitude which can only be had in the now.
God has a destiny for all of us. However, he never gives a road map to that destiny. Instead, he gives us a heading: joy by prayer by gratitude. Those who live this way live in his will. Those who live in his will discover his purpose for them.