Though we might posit the question under the guise of innocence, the vast majority of the time we’ve already made up our minds as to what we want to do. We aren’t really asking God what His will is, then – we are really asking God to agree with the decision we’ve already made. 

“What is God’s will for my life?” This is a good question for us to ask as Christians. It’s the right question for us to ask.

When we ask this question, we are acknowledging several things to be true about God as well as about ourselves. We are acknowledging at a base level that God is present and active in the world, and that He actually has a specific design for our lives. We are further acknowledging that the best way to live – the way to live that brings the most joy, the most meaning, the most satisfaction – is through denying our own will and instead seeking to live according to God’s. We are also acknowledging that many times, in our flesh, we might have a different idea about the way our lives should go than God does. But in asking this question, if indeed we follow through with it, we are acknowledging the authority God has over us.

These are all good and right things. And yet we might well be making some mistakes when we claim to be seeking the will of God. I write this from personal experience, for as many times as I’ve asked the question, it’s that many times that I’ve erred in either my understanding of God’s will or in my motivation behind asking the question to begin with.

I wanted, then, to write today a little bit about some of the mistakes I’ve observed in my own life when seeking the will of God.

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