YOU ASKED FOR IT: FINDING GOD’S WILL

Pastor Jonathan Falwell 

Psalm 37:1-7 (CSB) Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. 2 For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants. 3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely., 4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act, 6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday. 7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans. 

Question: How do you find God’s Will for your life? 

Question 1: How can you know God’s Will in this culture? 

Answer 1: Focus your attention on the right stuff 

• Vss 1-2 Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong. 2 For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants.
• Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Answer 2: Stand out in the culture rather than trying to fit in

• Vs 3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.

Question 2: How can I tell the difference between God’s Will and my own desires? 

Answer 1: Love Him more than you love anything else

• Vss 4-5 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act

Answer 2: When you are loving the things of God more than the things of the world, you’re on the right track

• Vss 5-6 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act, 6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday. 

Question 3: How long will it take to find God’s will? 

Answer 1: As long as it takes. God’s timing is far better than our own.

• Vs 7a Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him…

Answer 2: Don’t get frustrated while others seem to be thriving

• Vs 7b …do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans.

Question 4: So how do I start? How do I get on the right path?

Answer 1: Desire the things God desires

• 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.

Answer 2: Seek out His Word and His presence

• Psalm 119:9-16 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word. 10 I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands. 11 I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you. 12 Lord, may you be blessed; teach me your statutes. 13 With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. 16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

Answer 3: Surround yourself with the right influence

• Proverbs 13:20 The one who walks with the wise will become wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm.

Answer 4: Don’t wait to act

• James 1:22-25 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.