There are lots of believers today that when you ask them certain questions, they will simply respond by saying "I am trying to know the will of God concerning this matter." So many believers out there are still confronted with this challenge of knowing the will of God for their lives. If by now you are still struggling with this aspect of your life, this message will inspire you as we journey together in knowing what God specific will is for your life.

            So, what exactly is the will of God? You know it is a common phrase in church, in programs and even in meetings, pastors talk about knowing the will of God, even believers alike talk about the will of God. So, what do we mean by the will of God? The will of God is the plan of God, the counsel of God and sometimes you can refer to it as the purpose of God for your life. It is the reason why God made you the way you are, the reason why you are tall or short, the reason why you are either light or dark in complexion. God specifically made you the way you are simply because He has a plan and a will for your life.

            So when we are talking about the will of God, we are talking about His plan for you. It is what He has in stock for you, what He wants you to accomplish and do with your life. I believe that is simple enough. The will of God is His plan for your life. And when we are talking about the will of God, you see we can look at it in two broad ways. There is the general will of God and the Specific will of God. What we will be focusing here today is the specific will of God. But briefly, let us examine the general will of God. What is the general will of God for man?

            You see God has a plan for man and for making man in His own image. I am going to take you back to the book of Genesis 1:26 so that we can begin from there to understanding what the general will of God for man is and then we would move from there to the specific will. Genesis 1:26 says:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over ^[a]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

            One of the will of God concerning man is that man lives and rules in dominion. God made man to reign on earth in dominion. You see God has not made you for sin or for sickness to dominate you. God has not made you so that poverty can dominate you, No! God has given you power so that you can dominate over all that He has made. So when we are talking about the general will of God for man, it is that you rule and dominate. You have not been made to be timid or fearful, you are suppose to be a being that represent God on the face of the earth. You are supposed to rule and reign in your domain, that is how God has made you. He made you to dominate, not that sickness, bareness and poverty to dominate you. So that is God's first intention for man, ruling and reigning in dominion.

            If you also look at the book of 2Peter 3:9, another general will of God for man is documented there. It says:

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

            That is another general will of God for man. His will is that all men are saved. Irrespective of the religion you practice, God's plan is that you are saved and not to perish. No wonder that Scriptures says God is ready to long suffer until you come and embrace this His will for your life. If you also examine 1 Timothy 2:4, it says: "Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." God's wish is that you are saved and have access to salvation, and that is why He gave Jesus so that you can have access to this salvation and grace as well.

            So the general will of God as we have seen is that man was made in dominion, to rule and reign on the earth, you are God's representatives on the earth and so you are supposed to reign and extend God's kingdom on the earth, that is why you are made. And secondly we have also seen from two bible passages that God's will for you is that you are saved and that you do not die in your sin and ignorance.

            Now let us go into examining God's specific will of God for your life, what are they? Apart from the general will, every individual has that specific will of God. In case you are reading this and you are born again thank God you have fulfilled those general will. But have you found out the specific will? What are certain things that God would have you do? Specific will are God's plan that are tailor-made for you. It is what God will have you do as His child. For example if you read the book of Jeremiah chapter one verse five, God told Jeremiah that before he was formed, he has been ordained a Prophet.

            So for Jeremiah, God's specific will for him is that he is a Prophet of God unto Nations. Now if he Jeremiah had been found doing something else, that tells you that he would have been going against the plan of God for his life. The specific will of God is that you accomplish certain things while you are one earth and that you follow through the plans and purpose of God for your life. And so, how can you find out what these specific will are because that is where a lot of people have the challenge. How do I know this is God's plan for me, concerning who to marry and all of that. So I am going to be giving us few points that can show you how you can locate God's specific will for your life.

            Point number one: for you to know God's specific will for your life, you must renew your mind. You see, if you don't renew your mind to God's word, you may not be able to find out what God would have you do. If your mind is not opened to God's word, because when you are talking about God's will, what is it? God's will is His word and it is contained in the Bible, the Holy Scripture; that is the manual for your life and for your creation. If you want to know what God would have you do, then go to the Bible. But if you read the Bible and your mind is not renewed towards what the Bible says, then you are going to be missing God's specific will.

            You may be born again, going to church and be hearing sermons every Sunday. But you can still miss God's will. So the first thing is your mind must be renewed to God's word, this is the starting point in knowing God's specific will. Your mind must be opened and it must be renewed to God's word. How do I know this? Romans 12:2. It says:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

            That Scriptures says that if your mind is renewed, there are three things that will happen. Number one, you will know what is good for your life, for your family and for your marriage. Then you will know what is acceptable. You see, as a child of God, it is not everything that is acceptable and it is important that you know this. It is not every norms, customs and traditions that you must follow. There are certain things that are good in the eyes of the world but are not acceptable with God, and when your mind is renewed, you will be able to know these things; what is good, what is acceptable and what is the perfect will of God. So the point is this, knowing God's specific will for your life begins from you renewing your mind. I believe you got that point.

            Point Number two, to know God's specific will for your life, you must look into the word of God. You see, just like I said the other time, when a manufacturer makes a product, it comes with a manual, a guiding manual that will teach and show you how the product can be used. When God made you, He packaged your manual into His word, the Holy Scripture. If you are a child of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you, He will lead you into all truth. So the word of God can lead you into God's will.

            As a matter of fact, when you are reading the word of God, you are reading His will. So, you want to know whom to marry, go to the word of God. You want to know the choice of career, or whether to start that business or not, just go to the word of God. Let me show you a Scripture in Psalms 32:8. It says: "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye." So, knowing God's specific will is in the Bible, and not in any other place. That is about point number two.

            Point Number three: Knowing God's specific will requires that you surrender your will to His will. This is where there is a lot of conflict in the body of Christ. A lot of believers have their plans and God also has His plans. The challenge then becomes you submitting your plan to the plan of God, this is where a lot of people miss it. You see for you to follow the paths, and the plans and purposes of God for your life, you must come to the place where you must submit your personal will, and your personal ambition into the plans of God. You must find where the two meets.

            You see if you are running on a path that is not in line with the will or the plan of God for your life, then it is going to be like a race that is run in futility. The bible says somewhere in the New Testament, Apostle Paul said many people run in a race, but the one that is crowned is the one that runs according to the dictates and plans of the organizers. You should not superimpose your will on God's will, whatever thing that you will be doing should emanate from God's plan and purpose for your life. Proverbs 19:21 says:

"There are many plans in a man’s heart,
Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand."

            That Scripture is straightforward isn't it? Whatever personal plans you have for yourself or your life, the Bible says it is the Lord's counsel that would stand in the long run. So, knowing God's specific will for your life requires that you submit your will to God's will.

            Finally for you to know God's specific will for your life, you must obey what you already know to be God's will. God has said certain things already in His word, how many of them have you obeyed? Because if God gives you a certain instruction and you do not follow it, what it means is that the next instruction is not going to come because the one He gave you, you have not yet obeyed it. So knowing God's specific will requires that you are obeying the ones you already know. How many of God's will have you fulfilled? Thank God you are born again and saved, but how many of the other wills are you fulfilling? Let us see this Scripture as we begin to conclude. I Thessalonians 4:3. It says: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality..."

            It says this is the will of God that you are separated. For example, that is an example of the will of God. Have you consecrated yourself? Are you abstaining from sexual immorality? For you to receive other will, you must obey the ones you already know. Are you following God's plan and His purpose for your life? So as we conclude, four things to knowing God's specific will for tour life. Number one, you must renew your mind, that is the starting point. Your mind must be opened to the word of God. Don't be defensive with the word of God, when you are reading and studying the word, let your mind be opened and then receive everything that God will be saying to you.

            Number two, you must look to the word itself. You can't get God's will anywhere outside of His word. It is in the word of God. Number three, you must surrender your will to God's will and then number four, you must obey the other will of God that you already know. By the time you meditate on these words, I believe the Holy Spirit would open it more unto you. Don't live life like someone who is confused and does not know what to do and where to turn to, and you are a believer, a child of God. This is not how God has ordained you to live your life.

            I believe you have been blessed.

Source: [CentreNDL]