What is God's will for my life?

Good morning asudsy-ga and thank you for posting this interesting
question.  Being born and raised in the church, I am happy to give you
some time tested advise and some scripture in the hopes that this may
give you a better understanding of God?s will for your life.

Romans 12:2 :  "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will
be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing
and perfect will."

Though some people think it is difficult to know God?s will, it really
isn?t.  If you are a believer, you will know that the bible tells us
what God's will is. It tells us what to do and what not to. It is
God's will that we maintain a grateful heart (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
and live in a holy manner. (1 Thessalonians 4:3).  Additionally, it is
not God's will that we grumble and complain or engage in immoral
thoughts or actions.

Most people want Him to tell you how to live, who to marry, what job
to hold, where to move, etc.   To bad He doesn?t give a life
instruction manual.  The benefit of being human is that He does allow
us to make our own choices on how to live, though He hopes we will
make the choices that are in agreement with His will.  I think the
only decision God does not want us to make is the decision to sin or
resist His will.

I feel that God?s will for our lives is simple - make sure what you
are doing and what you are asking for is not something the Bible
forbids and make sure what you are doing and what you are asking for
will glorify God and help you grow spiritually.  If you do these
things and God still is not giving you what you are asking ? then it
is likely not God?s will for you to have what you are asking for.

Spend time daily meditating on God's Word.   When you need to know
God's will in a matter, you have the great advantage of recalling what
God has said because you study His word.

George Müller, an English evangelist and philanthropist followed this
simple "rule" for living:

"...I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection
with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I
look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great
delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it
according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them..."

Source:  Knowing God?s Will
( http://www.allaboutfollowingjesus.org/Knowing-Gods-Will.htm )

You can also read a very insightful book called "Knowing God's Will -
Finding Guidance for Personal Decisions" by Richard C. Halverson.  You
can find it at:

( http://nehemiah.gospelcom.net/knowing.htm )

I sincerely hope this sheds some light on God?s will for your life. 
If you have any other questions or something needs clarification,
please do not hesitate to ask.

Nenna-GA
Google Researcher

Google Search Term:

?What is God?s will?

Perfect. Thanks heaps.

Why not ask Him instead of Google answers?

God's will is for you to become at least as wise as Fishy Finger, and
possibly as wise as Stinky Pinky.

Catholic doctrine holds that man has free will.  We can do whatever we
want and God will not interfere.  The consequences are ours to face. 
(I am a lapsed Catholic, BTW.)

When uncertain, duck out and think about things.

Doing nothing is better than doing something 
- under drastic circumstances.

- if you are under severe pressure, then don't resist it
- just slide sideways

You have many paths before you
- I suggest that you choose the one least likely to hurt people
NEVER LET ANYONE FORCE YOU INTO A CORNER

WHO'S will?

If you are a Christian, this book may be of great help:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576737411

I have read very few life-changing books. This was one.

Perhaps you are asking the wrong question?

http://www.infidels.org/news/atheism/intro.html#atheisms

Nelson

You were not by any chance born and raised in Ireland and then went to
that "heathen" land of England to seek employment?
DPRK007

http://www.biblegateway.com/

The biggest selling book on the topic, next to the Bible:

http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/

No, dprk007-ga.  I has born in the good old USA and I make IRA
contributions (that would be my Individual Retirement Account).  Don't
Irish boys go bad at home?

@ Nenna:
Hi there! I agree with what you say. However, I'd be more concrete
about the two of the following things you mentioned:

"Most people want Him to tell you how to live, who to marry, what job
to hold, where to move, etc.   To bad He doesn?t give a life
instruction manual."

I know, you probably meant the Bible doesn't specifically says just
WHERE to live or just WHAT to do, but still... the following
quotations prove it IS a life instruction manual that leaves you with
enough space to show your free will and intentions of the heart;

HOW TO LIVE: "(...)man must live not on bread alone, but on every
utterance coming forth through Jehovah's mouth(...)-Mt 4:4", "By faith
he [Abraham] resided as an alien in the land of promise as in a
foreign land and dwelt in tents (...)-Heb11:9"
And just like him, we must also live 'as foreigners': "and those
making use of this world as those NOT USING IT TO THE FULL; for the
scene of this world is changing. -1Co 7:31"

WHO TO MARRY: "[he]/she is free to be married to whom [he]/she wants,
ONLY IN THE LORD. -1Co 7:39"

WHAT JOB TO HOLD: "(...)make it your aim to live quietly and to make
your own business and work with your hands (...) -1Thes 4:11",
"(...)be obedient in everything to those that are your masters in a
fleshly sense, not with acts of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but with
sincerety of heart, with fear of Jehovah. -Col 3:22"
But if we are ordered to do something God forbids, we are to follow
the principle from Acts 5:29: "We must obey God as ruler rather than
men"

WHERE TO MOVE: "Step over to Macedonia and help us. -Ac 16:9"  The
early Christians, but also the TRUE Christians in modern times move to
the areas where there is a greater need for preaching and helping
people to find the truth about the true God and His plan for the
Earth. Allowing such spiritual goals to guide us in life brings
blessings just like Jesus had promised: "Keep on, then, seeking first
the kingdom and the righteousness and all these [other] things will be
added to you. -Mt 6:33"


And secondly, you say: "...make sure what you are doing and what you
are asking for is not something the Bible forbids..."
Sure thing, but that is FAAAAR from enough. Remember the young rich
man from Mt 19:20?
He said :"I have kept all these; what yet am I lacking?" He wasn't a
killer, wasn't behaving violently, wasn't cheating on his wife, wasn't
impolite, wasn't without spiritual needs and goals..... But it was
obvious to him that solely not doing bad is not enough! He said what
else am I LACKING?!
Pay attention that Jesus DIDN'T say "All things, therefore, that you
don't want men to do to you, you also must not likewise do to them"!
He said:"All things, therefore, that you WANT men to do to you, you
also must likewise DO to them. -Mt 7:12"
There's a great difference between active and passive voice!
Many so-called Christians try to justify their indolence saying they
aren't doing anything bad.
TRUE Christians are not passive bystanders. They are actively
interested in helping the others the way Jehovah says in His word.
"Therefore if one knows how to do what is right and yet does not do
it, it is a sin for him. Jas 4:17"

Hope we agree? ;)

Hello Nelson
I am also sure you spend much time at "H and R Block"
to make those IRA contributions. Unlike the Irish boys 
who have spent even more time at the "H Block"
If they survived the dirty protest and hunger strike
they hone their political skills to become the minister of 
Health or Education in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
(Well ministers in waiting for now!)
DPRK007

Hi asudsy-ga,

  Sorry for not giving you my 2 cents worth eailer, haven't been
checking in. I see you have already accepted an answer and it is a
good one. But for my undertsanding of God's will, it falls far short.
You see this explanation puts virtualy all the owness for your choice
on the bible, (or any book) as God's will for you to follow. To me
that makes this like a hand book of judgement and alows you to ignor
how you truly feel. Life is belief and choice. God's will works
through us in every aspect of our existance. Jesus, as I understand
it, said the truth will set you free. So what is the truth? Well the
truth is God's will and it comes in the form of choice. We all get to
choose, we are presented choices constantly. This is what life is.
God's will, as I see it, is how you feel about these choices. We all
know inside, what is right or wrongh, the choice is in which way to
act. You see, by judging yourself by the bible only(out side your
self) you alow your self to ignore how you feel inside about your
decision. See, most people do not recognize choice as an action, and
we are responsible for our actions, all of them, and we truly only
answer to ourselves. This is not easy to understand, nor is it easy to
live your life this way, but trust me, so far, it has not failed me,
once. Jesus said the truth will set you free so be true to you. What
makes this so dificult to do is that to do what we know inside to be
good and right(and true) does not usually bennefit us. Actually it
takes away from our physical( personal) gain,  virtualy every time we
are presented a choice. So now what to do? Well all I can say is
follow your heart and be true to you, God will not gide you wrongh. In
this world where everything is about what you have it is hard to
follow God's will and do what you truly feel inside is right. I have
been trying to live this for thirty years and find everything I
believe is in the bible, and I have never read it. So if you want the
bible for guidence and justifaction, go ahead, just be sure to see how
you and God really feel about it together, before you act. You see,
you really only have your understanding to go on, so don't kid your
self. One more thing, no one can truly judge you but you so again, act
on God's will. Do what you truly feel is right and this means even if
seems not to bennefit you, the rewards for this are great, but painful
in our mortal life. Good luck.

P.S. I think I will go and stir things up a bit, I'm tiering of all this. I
I'm going to go post a few questions, get to the point, see if there
is anybody out there, maybe an Avatar master hehe, who understands
anything.
And yes I have answers to both these questions, but since you seem to
only think for money I will make it worth your while.

First off, there is no "God", or singularly omnipotent being. I think
that the idea of religion and gods is one of the biggest scams in
history. Every religion is about justification and control. The
Holocaust and the Crusades, I guess it was God's will. No, of course
not! What would be the logical reason for an all powerful God creating
Earth, only to limit the lives of the creatures on it? No, the truth
is, after we die, there is no heaven or hell, or any other level you
might hope to believe. This shouldn't be a sad thing, but something
that should help you live every day to the fullest. I am sure that I
will get replies from everyone including the Pope, but religion is for
the masses, a justification for why people die, why money is green,
and why everything else, good or bad, happens. Anyone have evidence to
prove me wrong? Give it a shot because I am open to everyone's
opinion. I will also suggest something: First try to prove their IS
NOT a God, look at your findings, then argue.

Two pointed comments:

airspace - Are you suggesting that we live life according to our
feelings?  Aren't feelings as fleeting as the wind, changing day to
day without, influenced by outside forces at a whim?  If so, it seems
there would be a great margin for error.

jjman2010 - I spent about 8 years trying to disprove the existence of
God, but I couldn't do it.  As a matter of fact, the more I tried to
disprove His existence, the more I began to realize that His existence
is entirely feasible and certain.  As for evidence that God does
exist, I would suggest that nature itself proves it.  It takes a lot
more faith to believe that the universe is a cosmic accident than it
does to believe that God create it with purpose and had it planned
even before the beginning of time.  Nonetheless, that is for you to
decide.  If I am wrong, then I will have lived a life full of love,
joy, health, and peace all ending at death.  But if you are wrong,
then you will spend eternity regretting your time spent on earth.

you ask 

What is God's will for my life?

well if its gods will for what your doing; 
how can it be your life? 

try living your life as you; `will´

fehc27- you have made a good point.  Our lives are not our own.  We
didn't create it, didn't earn it, didn't have a say in when it would
begin, and barring suicide, we won't decide when it ends.  All we
truly have is one choice: live for God or live for ourselves.  The
rest will flow from that one choice.

Well said, ilmag. But is it easier to have "faith" and hope things
will be O.K. or to believe that our existence, while recognized, is
truly coincidence. I wish that there was an all-powerful being that
existed, but why? Every idea I try to use in why "god" would create
earth and humans, I can't honestly comprehend it. If it is part of a
greater plan, so we go to heaven or hell, then why have life as a
human being? And if we have to earn our way into heaven, then would't
our place be predetermined by "God"?

jjman2010 - I don?t know which is easier: to have faith and hope
things will be O.K. or to believe that our existence is truly
coincidence.  And I can?t answer why God would create Earth and
humans.  I guess that?s why He is God and I am not.  He is infinite; I
am finite.  He is omnipotent; I have limited power.  He is omniscient;
I have limited knowledge.  As humans we can question Him, and I doubt
that He is offended, as a matter of fact, He probably welcomes it (at
least we are communicating with Him).  But we shouldn?t be surprised
or angry if we don?t understand the answer.  No matter how much or how
long or how hard we search, we will never know everything.  We?ll
never even ask enough to know everything.

That being said, this I do know.  God created you and me out of His
love for us in the hope that we might begin to understand that very
love in which He created us.  You don?t have to be perfect to know God
or to understand His love, and you and I cannot "earn our way into
heaven".  (If only good people went to heaven, then I would have to
ask: how good is good enough?)

The only way to find authentic, eternal, abundant life is to seek God
- the Author of Life ? through a relationship with His Son Jesus
Christ.  This is God?s desire: that we might know Him and make Him
known.

Well ilmag-ga, I must tell you I was not talking about how you feel
about the color of your shoes. If you actually think your feelings do
not influence your decisions then you are proof of life on other
planets. You see this would make you Volcan would it not? Pure logic
only, no emotion involved in any decision, I think you are fooling
yourself. If feelings didn't influence decisions then there would have
never been any war, or can you give me a logical reason to start
killing people. With your logic I can see why you and jjman2010-ga
have become friends, you both have something in common, 1 clue each.
No God or anything like it. Yea you just built every thought of you
existence on your own right, wana explain that one to me.
jjman2010-ga, you seem to have yourself confused with someone who has
seperated God and religion, you certianly haven't. ilmag-ga I would
agree 100% with your last paragraph, if it read with this small
change, "through a relationship like the one with his son Jesus
Christ." Or "through understanding God's relationship with his son
Jesus Christ." I am going to go post a new question on the subject, it
should lead to some interesting discussion.

Why is it so hard to accept the fact that there is no god. i mean,
everyone wants to believe everything happens for a reason, HE is
everywhere, and you go to heaven or hell when you die. what would be
the purpose of even being on the earth in the first place? if our fate
is predestined, and god is all knowing and all powerful, why not just
send every persons "soul" to heaven or hell? if HE already knows where
we are going to go, and he must if he is all powerful, then we arent
here for any real purpose. and why did he only populate one planet?
why not populate every planet? i think its absurd to even imagine
there is a god, because all life is just living and dying. no
afterlife, no heaven or hell. and if we can go to heaven, why not
animals, insects, fish? why are we so special that heaven is just for
us, and everything else is here to serve us and has no purpose? maybe
its easier to sleep at night and hope that there is something more to
life, but there isnt. i honestly wish i believed like others do, but
being someone who is older than the age of 5, i cant reasonably belive
it. gods and mythical creatures of the sort were created merely to
explain things that were not understood by early man. did all the
cavemen that didnt accept jesus go to hell? you can believe in one god
or a million, but theyre not real.

jjman2010 - I struggled with those types of questions for a long time
(cavemen, animals, planets, etc.), but then I realized that I was
missing some of the fundamentals of knowledge and omniscience.  First,
we cannot compare our understanding of knowledge to God?s omniscience.
 Our understanding is limited.  When we know something, it is based on
observation, experience, etc.  On the other hand, when God knows
something, it is because He is the source of it.  Secondly, we will
never know the outcome of a choice we didn?t make or ?what might have
been,? but God does.  This is why choice is so important.  God allows
us to make our choice, but He knows the outcome of every decision we
could ever possibly make.

Once I understood those two principles, it led me to this most
important fundamental of knowledge - I can only know what God allows
me to know.  This is amazing because anything I try to understand that
was never meant for me (by God) to understand will only lead to
confusion and questioning and bitterness and hatred and resentment and
sleeplessness and anger and jealousy and the list goes on.  But God,
in His infinite wisdom, has revealed a wealth of knowledge for me to
try to understand that leads to peace and love and joy and patience
and gentleness and kindness and goodness and self-control and
understanding.

So to answer your question about the cavemen - God is just.

To answer your question about the animals, insects, and / or fish -
God is merciful.

To answer your questions about only one populated planet - God is the Creator.  

And to answer your question about purpose ? God created you.  He loves
you, whether you believe in Him or not.  He is not dependent on you
loving Him back, nor is He dependent on you even believing in Him.  He
loves you because He made, and His purpose for you is that you
recognize Him and seek Him and know Him.

Be blessed!

ilmag

I do respect your answers, ilmag, and I think you have argued your
point well. But I fail to see how it proves god's existence. Everyone
I talk to about the existence of god say, in lieu of proof, to have
faith. Faith is a fool-proof way of not truly saying anything. I
understand that once you have faith, your on the path to god, but why
should you have faith? Why, if you do not believe in god, are you
damned to an eternity of hell?And what of your existence before your
born? The truth is we are here because of the Big Bang, and our
existence, though we feel has purpose, is truly the cycle of life that
has happened on other planets with different results.

jjman2010, you can chose to believe what ever you like, that is our
freedom. You wish to believe there is no God, Well I am ready to
believe with you. All you have is disprove the existance of your own
thoughts and everything else will dissapear with it. Or is this
something you just wish to avoid because it conflicts with your
belief. I have seen you put your faith in two things man made, first
time and then the big bang theory. Try putting your faith in yourself,
prove to yourself that your thoughts aren,t real and that you control
them by making them go away, simple really.

jjman2010 - You speak of faith as if it is optional.  If faith is
defined as ?confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness
of a person, idea, or thing,? or possibly even ?being sure of what one
hopes for and certain of what one does not see,? then doesn?t it take
faith to believe that there is no God.  You have asked me to prove
God, and I have refused.  I don?t have to defend God.  He is God.  He
will reveal Himself when He is ready.  So I ask you, how much faith
does it take to believe in the Big Bang Theory (emphasis on Theory)?

As to your question of ?existence before your born,? I do not
understand.  Please elaborate.

As to your question of being damned to hell for not believing in God,
my answer is that I do not condemn you to hell; that is for God to
decide.  However, I do know this: God is holy and sin cannot reside in
His presence.  That?s one of the reasons Jesus choose to die, so that
His death and shedding of blood would cover our sin.  We all have
sinned, but if we accept the free gift of salvation established by
Jesus on the cross, then we can receive the love of God that He
desires to give us.

airspace - I have found you to be full of confusion, circular
thinking, and contradictory communication.  That is the result of
putting "faith in yourself."  Nonetheless, I pray that you to will
understand what God (not yourself) has revealed to His creation.

Be blessed!

ilmag

ilmag, what can I say, but here we go again. First, I am not surprised
that you find me confusing, the things we are speeking are difficult
to understand. I have had the advantage of not being restrained by the
bible, before I came to my understanding of God and Jesus. This now
alows me to have fresh understanding, something we should welcome,
should we not? For the bible is ment for open interpetation by the
individual.
  Secoundly, yes my thinking can seem circular at times for sure, mind
you that is quite often the way these type of topics go. It always
amazed me how the meaning is so often the opposite of the definition.
  Third, contradiction is secound only to understanding in what I
seek. It is what I look for to verify everything and what I most try
to eliminate in  myself. So please point them out more specificaly, I
would truely like to correct them within myself, or help you
understand them.
  And last, but most certianly not least; I have said "I have
identified God within me." Well then don't you think I had better have
faith in myself, not to mention I always thought that was good advise.
  One more thing ilmag, you mentioned praying for me to understand
what God has revealed to his creation. Tell me, what did God reveal to
his creation? Or go post it, I will give you my answer in a single
word. although you have shown that you possible will choose to not
understand it.

airspace - I can deduce your foolishness to one three-part sentence -
You think you are God, you think that we are all God, and you think
that everything is God.  However, you could not be farther from the
Truth.  I weep for you.

ilmag

ilmag-ga, Why is it you wish only to tell me what I think, or what you
deduce that I think. You do not write what you think, you write what
you know. And I have responded to your thoughts with my thoughts, and
you still preach to me like you know something. You ask me under my
question to explain the identification of God with in myself. I have
done this and you have not commented, do you not have any thoughts, or
questions about it. If you understude me you could agree or strighten
me out, you do neither. So what am I to think, that you have just
walked out of the room ending the discussion, and you are right.
Thanks for all your worldly advice it has been helpful.

The ?patterns of this world? that Saint Paul is describing are the
pessimistic thoughts, beliefs and interpretations that we have
accumulated throughout our life, what we commonly call worry.
Influences of parents, teachers, coaches and peers have left indelible
impressions on us and shaped the way we think. But the problem is more
difficult than that. The science of cognitive psychology has proven
through years of research on hundreds of thousands of adults and
children that we are not aware of most of what we are thinking. The
vast majority of our worry thoughts are imperceptible, occurring on
the outer edges of awareness very quickly and rapidly. Most of the
time we can not even recall the thoughts or beliefs, but they have a
profound effect on the way we feel and behave. This is one of the
cornerstones of our new book Renewing Your Mind: how you think
determines how you feel. Even unperceived thoughts can produce painful
feelings. If we are not aware of what we think or believe, then there
is a lot of our experience that we seem to be powerless over. Guilt
and anxious feelings are examples of emotions that just seem to happen
and overtake us. Our book will teach you to weed out those hidden
worry thoughts and replace them with optimistic yet credible thoughts
that will lead to thinking and feeling better.
http://www.renewingyourmind.us

God's Will is your will*. You have to get on your knees and ask HIM to
guide you in the straight Path,in another word you need to submit
totaly to His Will.
Those who don't believe and say this is just stories and human fables,
nobody can do absolutly nothing to make them believe unless he/she
will. Now, if you ask me why is it like this?, my answer is: I DON'T
KNOW, but something I'am 100% sure without a shadow of a doubt: "Wow,
this is PERFECTION!".
ASH-HAD :)

God's will is to show what you are made of, and offer himself that you
can have more than a shell.

Which God, it is is like asking asking for Google's definition of Evil? 
I think everyone would like to think they had a purpose for living and
there starts the journey.Some have the ability to follow this journey,
some do not have time because of pressures or maybe just lack of a
need.
Empathy, concurance and positive regard is a good destination goal.
If you can apply these principles to your life then that is God's will
in my opinion. Peer, Parental, cultural etc influences may determine
which God you follow and you are blessed if you find the above in
those beliefs.