“Christians, if you are sitting around waiting for God to tell you if you should move into a different house, or find a new job, or get married, you will be waiting for a long time.”

Many of us are desperate to know the will of God for our lives. There are so many decisions to make and none of the answers seem clear. Where should I go to college? What kind of career should I pursue? Should I keep the job that I have? Should I be a missionary? Should I get married? Should I have kids? Where should I go to church? With so many questions to face in the coming weeks and years, it is no wonder that many of us are desperate to know the will of God for our lives.

Why is it that we seek God for big or small decisions in life? Why do we call upon him when asking what we should do in the future? Well, for one, we know that he is sovereign over all things. He is in control. God’s Word tells us he has a plan for our lives, so naturally, we want to know what that plan is. We do not want to make the wrong decision and be miserable. We do not want to “mess up” God’s plan, in a sense.

Kevin DeYoung says this, “I’d like us to consider that maybe we have difficulty discovering God’s wonderful plan for our lives because, if truth be told, he doesn’t really intend to tell us what it is. And, maybe we’re wrong to expect him to.”

Matthew 6 gives us two main commands: (1) Do not be anxious about your life and (2) seek righteousness.

Do Not Be Anxious about Your Life

Matthew 6 is actually Jesus himself preaching the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus just finished preaching on laying up treasures in heaven instead of treasures on earth and now he says, “Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on.”

Anxiety has a paralyzing affect. In the lives of Christians, many times, anxiety over the choices we have to make can be a double whammy of bad news. When you do nothing, waiting on God to speak, you get nothing done and feel holy…while doing nothing.

In this passage, Jesus tells us four times to not be anxious about food, clothing, or about tomorrow. This is difficult to do, isn’t it? I can think of plenty of times when I was in seminary when I looked at our bank account and thought, “How are we going to eat?! How are we going to pay our bills?!”

The point Jesus is making here is that God is in control! Yes, he does have a plan for you. No, he is not going to tell you every single intricate detail of that plan…that is not how he works. You know that God is in control. You love to honor him. God has given you logic, reason, and desire. Sure, you should make big decisions in life with much prayer, but you do not wait around to hear a still, small voice from the Lord.

Do not wait for a miraculous sign from God to make life choices.

Seek Righteousness

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:33)

For this is the will of God, your sanctification. (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

This is the will of God for your life, that you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. God’s will for your life is that you live for him! That you follow and serve him. That you be righteous. That you grow to know and love him more and more each day. That you become more like him.

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