Wow. What an article title. “Knowing God’s Will is Easy Peasy”. A bold claim – however it’s one I’m 100% willing to make! Though it’s been a while since I’ve written an article, this has been one interesting topic that I’ve noticed and desired to write about. It’s a question that every Christian (I’d think!) asks at some point in their spiritual battle here on earth.
What is God’s will for my life? How can I know what God wants me to do in life? How can I know my calling?
A plethora of questions all to do with “God’s will” and “calling” have consistently appeared in the six editions of the RE Gen Convention (3 times a ‘retreat’, 3 times a ‘convention’ – come along next year!). Every single Q & A, fellowship – you name it, a question about God’s Will for me is always there!
I think every time we hear this, it feels pretty up in the clouds and confusing. How can we know the will of the God who’s so massive, unfathomably out there and up there? Surely it must be a struggle to figure out even a single iota of what God could want for a small human like me! Why, then, should we even begin to care?
We have to care about what God’s Will is for us because He made us. If God set this earth up like a watch and left it to run, we wouldn’t need to care about who created us. But since our God is an active and present God who cares about you (yes you! An infinitesimally small being in this big wide universe!), knowing His Will tells us why we’re here and what we should be doing on earth right now! We should find great comfort in this. God is not absent, He is present. He is Immanuel, God With Us! Ephesians 1:7-10 writes that:
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things to him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
God has revealed and made known to us His Will through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is Immanuel. Jesus is also… the Word (see John 1)! Jesus is the Word, described in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 as…
“…breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
I think we can agree that it’s pretty hard to be “complete” and “equipped for every good work” without knowing God’s Will! More explicitly, the psalmist says in Psalm 119:9,
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”
While it’d be impossible to know what God would do in every situation, we can live lives pleasing to God if we guard ourselves according to His Word. God works in mysterious ways we cannot fully understand. But, it is good news that God is incomprehensible. He’s unable to be comprehended. If God was able to be fully comprehended by us, then we would be able to predict God. We would be able to analyse God like a lab experiment. God would be able to fit into the framework of our sinful minds. How terrible!
Compared to the limitless, holy God, we are limited, sinful, human beings – how then can we live a godly life if God is so incomprehensible? Well, one could say that it’s “easy peasy”! In spite of that, it would be erroneous to say that knowing God’s Will is something instantaneous! It requires patience and effort. It is certainly extremely confusing and frustrating, especially when our finite intuition clashes with God’s infinite grand plan. I myself write this from a time of personal struggling with what God’s will is for my life, specifically in various ministries. It’s a struggle of stressful days, sleepless nights and constant striving. However, the Bible calls us not to give in so easily! We must “make every effort to confirm our calling” (2 Peter 1:10) whilst being “filled with the knowledge of His will” (Colossians 1:9). This is absolutely no easy feat!
So what’s the “easy peasy” way of knowing God’s Will for you? The answer might seem dead obvious, but it’s a living truth (literally lol). It’s the Bible! The Bible is the ultimate revealer of God’s will, epitomised in the life and work of Jesus, the Word incarnate.
You might be thinking now ’That’s not what I mean by God’s Will!’ Usually when we ask what God’s will is for us, our questions are more veered towards ourselves personally.
How do I know my talents? Who should I be friends with? Is this person the right one for me?
God and His Word are not like magic crystal balls that illuminate in your mind the face of who you should marry one day (oftentimes, that’s a result of our own desires rather than God’s Will!) It is wise to pause now and differentiate between God’s general calling and specific calling.
As the name suggests, a general calling is a calling that is general to all Christians. All Christians follow this, there are no exceptions. A specific calling is one specific to you! Evidently, not all people are called to marry the exact same person, or work the same job. Both are equally God’s Will and are relevant at all times during your Christian life. However, it is vital that we walk in step with our general calling, even when our specific one is unclear.
It is important to note also that each of us have a limited number of callings, but we certainly have many leadings. God created you with a purpose, talents and a specific calling. These things may land you in many different places. There are times when God will lead you and place you in moments where there may be no definitive ‘right’ answer. Both ministries might be equally good – there may be no ‘right’ one over the other. But if you’re a Christian, we know that “all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28), and our role is to obey Him in whatever ministry He places us in. We need not worry! God will grant the desires of your heart if you delight in Him (Psalm 37:4). When we walk in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), we follow God’s general calling.
Great! Yet this really begs the question… what actually is God’s general calling for our lives?
Let’s look at three passages of Scripture that detail what God’s Will is for us. This is not a definitive, exhaustive list – you will find many more mentions of what God’s Will is for you as you traverse through the Bible. However, this is a solid groundwork to start to understand what God wants you to do.
1. Worship, meditate and teach the One True God
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
This passage is the greatest commandment that God gave to Israel in the Old Testament (it is later echoed by Jesus in the New Testament, see Matthew 22:37-38). So what is God’s will for you? It is that you worship Him exclusively. There is only one true God. This honestly makes quite a lot of sense. If God wasn’t the greatest being, exclusively on His own level, what kind of God would that be? Matthew Henry aptly puts it like this: “It is better to have one fountain than a thousand cisterns, one all-sufficient God than a thousand insufficient ones.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 also calls us to love God with all our being. All the things we do should flow from our love for God. We should strive to know Him and do things according to His Will. We cannot have any other idols, or love anything more than God. Our heart must be wholly given to Him alone! This passage also kindly suggests to us ways we can practically remember God’s Will, that is, to worship Him alone.
First, we should meditate on the Word. The Word should be on our hearts. In fact, the psalmist says that they have “hidden [God’s] word in [their] heart, that [they] might not sin against [God].” (Psalm 119:11) Reading, meditating and memorising Scripture is essential for us to be able to discern God’s Will.
Second, we should teach it. We should tell the next generation, and our own generation, about God’s Word! There is no need to ask, “is it God’s Will for me to evangelise to this person?” It is certainly God’s Will for you to do that! The more we talk about something, the more we remember it and love it. Do your conversations reflect a love for Scripture?
Not only that, but the “frontlets between your eyes” refer to Jewish phylacteries. A phylactery (see Google for an image haha) is basically a small box that is strapped around your head and hand. The contents of the box are passages (including this one!) from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible that are upheld as the Jewish law). What a fascinating, practical way to literally remember God’s Word! Let’s also be creative with how we remember God’s Word (though, probably not in the form of phylacteries, as you can see in Matthew 23:5!)
2. Live a holy life
“God’s will is for you to be holy” (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
In the original language, the word here used for “holy” can also be translated to “completely purified” or “sanctified”. So what is God’s will for you? To live a holy, completely pure, sanctified life! What does it mean to live like that? It means becoming more like Jesus every day! Jesus was holy, therefore we should imitate Him in order to fulfil God’s will. To clarify, holy means to be “set apart”; set apart from sin, worldliness and idolatry.
Paul calls us to not only keep our hearts and minds holy, but also our bodies holy. In a world where sin, particularly sexual sin, is shown off and not shameful, we must live counter-culturally. From the words we say, to the clothing we wear, to what we choose to participate in, may we live lives that show we now belong to Jesus. This is hard work – it’s not easy! But, “His grace is sufficient for us, for God’s power is made perfect in our weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9)!
We are now “a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9), set apart from before all of time for the Lord (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 1:11). May God etch on each of us the proclamation that we are “HOLY TO THE LORD” (Zechariah 14:20) forever!
3. Go and make disciples of all nations
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
The Great Commission! What is God’s will for you? Make disciples of all nations! Disciples are not fans. They are not followers. They are people who are teachable – pupils in Christ’s school! People who are not special or famous in anyway, in fact, they are those who “deny themselves and carry their crosses” (Matthew 16:24-26), are hated by all (John 15:18-19, 16:33) and who leave everything behind for Jesus alone (Luke 14:26-27). Who does Jesus think He is? Why would anyone follow Him if that’s what they had to face? Why do you follow Jesus?
Jesus does not request these things out of the blue. Jesus has paid the cost Himself before us. He took our sins to the cross to be dealt with and paid for all eternity. He restores our disrupted world, identity and life. This great command (not suggestion, command!) is one full of authority. Trinitarian authority, as a matter of fact! It is a command from the power that governs every particle of the universe. A command from the most Glorious One, our crucified Saviour. How can we be ashamed of Christ crucified when we see Christ glorified!
We are to bring all nations to be subject to Christ. Why should we be ashamed or afraid? Has not Jesus already won the war? Already, but not yet! Right now, we live in the time of God’s grace, where He awaits people to turn to Him (Isaiah 30:18). Though in the “present we do not see everything subject to them… we do see Jesus” (Hebrews 2:8-9)!
In this way, we play an active part in this work of God. Augustine captures this brilliantly: “Without God, man cannot. Without man, God will not.” We must actively work to bring God’s kingdom on earth, not because we are worthy of having this amazing task, but because God, in His marvellous grace, has chosen us! As Rev. Agus Marjanto says, “Grace negates merit, but does not negate work.” Why then should we tarry? Why are we lazy? We do not conquer the nations to make them miserable subjects that we rule over. We conquer them so that they may receive the fullness of joy, riches of grace, abundant life, all found under Jesus’ rule. We truly “are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37)!
We must obey all that Christ commands us! Jesus has already promised us, not “I will be with you” but “I am with you!” This is a beautiful assurance! A promise that lasts for all time! Though he may be hidden at times (Isaiah 45:15, Deuteronomy 29:29) He is never absent! Let us have confidence in our great YHWH (LORD, God of Covenant). The disciples also had the impossible task of convincing people to follow the crucified Christ, but they held onto this promise and brought the Gospel to the world! Through the Holy Spirit, we too are able to receive this Gospel now, many years after!
There is still much work to be done for God’s Kingdom. Our battle is nowhere near done. The weak opposition, satan, still fights to try and bring as many people as he can to join him in hell. Even so, we must not be “conformed to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2). In fact, writing this article has made me realise what the next bit of this verse means: “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – how amazing is this!
Instead of being “conformed to the pattern of this world”, the verse instructs us that we must “live in a manner worthy of the Lord” (Colossians 1:10). In “whatever we do, we must work at it with all our heart, as if we are working for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23-24), “doing God’s will from the heart” (Ephesians 6:6), so that in “whatever we do, we do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31)
Knowing God’s Will for our lives is less about what we actually do. God’s already told us that! Instead, we should ask, how can I live out God’s will? Where does God call me to live? In her book “Immeasurably More” (2021), Liz Parker, who is still alive and active in missions with her family at the time of writing this article, was also puzzled at what God’s Will was for her life. That was, until a friend of hers mentioned this to her. “God only steers a moving ship.”
If we are not already moving, God will not direct us. We must take the step forward into the River Jordan and only then will God part the waters (see Joshua 3)! Dear reader, it is my prayer that you may be used greatly for the Lord. Let us join together in rejoicing always, praying without ceasing and giving thanks in all circumstances (this especially is 100% God’s Will! See 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) when we grow together in the fear of the Lord and knowledge of the Holy One (Proverbs 9:10).
If you’re reading this article on the day of its publication, then today’s the first day, in a long time, where I won’t be able to call myself a ‘child’ or a ‘teen’. In my eighteen years of existence, wrestling with God’s Word here in this amazing world, I hope that this article can be of value to you, and your walk with God. Nevertheless, there is much more to learn in this beautiful journey called life on earth, depending on how much more I have of it, I guess!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading this article (and others I have written). May God bless you abundantly. This article was written by Ethan Chow, published on the 28th of August, 2025. All glory be to God alone. Soli Deo Gloria.
This article is inspired by the participants of the 2025 RE Gen Convention. You are my answered prayers, and I rejoice in the Lord when I think of you. May you continue to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10) Continue and persevere, “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” (Ephesians 6:10) May the Lord bless you and keep you for all your days. Live out your calling. If we don’t see each other on earth, let us pray for one another, and long for the day we shall meet again, in heaven, praising and marvelling at our great Saviour and God. Soli Deo Gloria.
