His voice was filled with calm assurance. “This congregation has been reading a book, so they are finding out what God’s will is for their lives.” The preacher’s words echoed in my thoughts.

Finding out God’s will. God’s will. Is that really something we can know?

My roommate, Julie, looked over at me and asked the same question I had been thinking. We both smiled, and I knew this would invite a conversation later.

As a child, the story of Adam and Eve had intrigued me. I wondered why God would place such a temptation in the middle of the garden. He must have known they would sin, so why would he want his children to go through such pain? People around me provided answers such as, “God gave them the gift of choice” and “It was God’s will that they sin so that the rest of the universe could see how terrible sin is.”

That last answer still troubles me. I find it hard to believe that a loving God could will for so many people to experience such pain. Everywhere I look the world seems saturated with suffering. Yet many still try to answer the “why” question with, “Well, it’s God’s will.”

Is it really God’s will that thousands of people get killed in a terrorist attack or die from hurricanes, earthquakes, or tornadoes? Is it God’s will that children get sold into slavery because their parents need a little money? Is it God’s will that a man beats his wife and children or a drunk driver kills and maims? Is it God’s will that a family won’t be able to pay all of their bills this month? Is it God’s will when the doctor says “cancer”? Is it God’s will when gas prices go up or construction slows people down? Is it even God’s will when the toast is burnt and a sock goes AWOL in the dryer? Second Peter 3:9 says the Lord is “not willing that any should perish;” yet people perish.

So what is God’s will? How do we know when to follow God’s will? As Christians, we seem to think of God’s will as a sort of blueprint for our lives. We hope that God has everything planned out and he will simply reveal this plan. However, if we think that God will speak directly into our ears and tell us exactly what we’re supposed to do, we will be disappointed. Perhaps a balance exists between waiting for God to speak and chalking everything up to God’s will.

Clear Channel
God communicates if we are tuned into him. Through our diligent prayer and Bible study he will speak to us, although he does not communicate every detail for our lives. He still leaves choices up to us. God is, after all, a God of choice. He guides us, but we must take the initiative to make the choices.

An example of God’s communication happened recently to me. My life had become routine and I began to feel that my spiritual life was stagnant. It seemed that I had fallen into a deep rut, with no escape. I decided to ask God to shake my life up and give me passion again. In response, I felt God communicating clearly and guiding me in a most unexpected way, when I made a casual visit to the Campus Ministries department at Union College. I don’t remember why I had walked in that morning; it may have been to say hello to Julie, who worked there. I do remember asking a casual question about the student missions program.

“Are you going to be a student missionary next year?” my bubbly roommate asked excitedly.

“No.” My word sounded unsure. “I wasn’t planning to go anywhere next year. I just want to concentrate on finishing school so I can get a job.”

“Do you want a pre-application?” she persisted.

“If I’m not going to go next year, then why do I need a pre-application?”

“Take it anyway. Just because you fill this out doesn’t mean that you are going to be a missionary next year.”

I looked at her and could tell she was determined to give me the application. “Okay,” I said with a smile. “I guess it couldn’t hurt just to fill it out.”

Was it a coincidence that the next day after I had asked God to shake my life up, I found myself filling out this application to be a student missionary? I don’t pretend to know what God’s will is for my life. But I feel that God was leading me. God is always communicating. We are responsible for listening.

This responsibility goes beyond trying to hear what God is telling us. Part of listening is doing. It doesn’t do any good to listen to God if we don’t act upon what we hear. Eventually we need to get out of our overstuffed easy chairs and move. God gave us the gift of discernment so we would act upon his direction.

Wrong Choice?
After church, my conversation with Julie picked up again. “Julie, can we ever really know the will of God?” I asked.

“I don’t really think so. He guides us, but we can never know the complete mind of God.” I nodded as Julie began talking again. “Do you ever think that maybe it is God’s will that you make a wrong choice?”

I thought about this for a moment. “Maybe wrong choices can turn into God’s will. They might not have been what God wanted for us originally, but God can turn them around to his glory.”

Perhaps it wasn’t God’s will for Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. I may never understand why God put that tree in the garden, but I believe God didn’t want them to eat from it. But once the mistake was made, God took a bad situation and worked it out for good. He sent his Son to die so that we might live. Through the sinful act of disobedience he bruised the serpent’s head and defeated sin forever.

God is a God of recovery. If we trust him, he can turn around even the worst situations. God doesn’t have a blueprint for our lives, but he does have a plan for us: “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11, RSV). When we act on this plan, our lives — and our mistakes — can demonstrate what is the will of God.

Oh, by the way, I’m in Palau this year.

pp.15,16 adventist today | vol. 15 issue 6