When I was younger, I wrestled often with the idea of God’s will – what it was and how I could access it. I think my struggle was driven most by the fear of making one wrong decision that would, by some domino effect, push me farther and farther away from the will of God. I needed to get every big decision right or maybe I would never make my way back to God’s will. 

Does that struggle sound familiar? As we enter early adulthood, we begin to wrestle with an onslaught of questions:

Where should I go to college?

Who should I marry?

Where should I live?

How should I make a living?

Can I actually make a difference in this world if I made the wrong decisions along the way?

The Bible gives us more than enough direction and insight on how to live and what God’s will is for each of us. It does not speak to these temporary daily decisions for each of us but, instead, offers a roadmap for life that will ensure we are walking “in step with the Spirit,” as Paul says it in Galatians 5. Like the rest of Scripture, Paul speaks in broader terms about what the Christian life ought to look like, and this kind of instruction is where we find the true will of God for us. In Colossians, Paul writes about asking for this type of wisdom for ourselves and for others:

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding…” (Colossians 1:9)

So we ask for wisdom and understanding as we are filled with the Holy Spirit, renewing our minds by the Word of God. We grow in our knowledge of who God is and, as we walk with the Spirit, we are granted wisdom and understanding for the big and small decisions in our life. 

But this pursuit of wisdom is not for our own gain. It does not lead to pride and confidence in our own intellect and ability to navigate this life. No, instead this knowledge leads us to who we are created for, what we are created to do, how we are created to live, and why we exist in the first place!

“For God, who said ‘Let light shine out of the darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

The Spirit is shining the light of God’s knowledge in our hearts for a very specific reason: to glorify Jesus with our entire lives. What is the chief aim of man? If you know the Westminster Catechism you will recognize this question. The answer?  

To glorify God and enjoy Him forever!

In other words, there is nothing more important that I am doing or will ever do than to exalt, magnify, glorify and make much of Christ the Savior. All will be in vain if I fall victim to the temptation to make much of me in this life. This is what worship is all about, is it not? The glorifying of God above all else in all acts of worship in this life. Paul says it like this to the church in Ephesus:

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

And here’s the crazy part: the more we know and delight in God, the more we enjoy God, and the more glorified He is in our lives. John Piper says it this way: “He is most glorified in me, when I am most satisfied in Him.” These things are interconnected; the glorifying of Christ must be in response to my full surrender to Him and my rejection of the world with its fleeting pleasures. He is greater, He is more worthy, He alone will satisfy my longings, He alone should guide my steps, and He alone will grant wisdom for all that is ahead of me.

And so we pray:

God, give us wisdom. God, give us understanding. God, give us knowledge. Remind us today that Your will for us is to give our lives away to the glory of Christ and for the proclamation of the Gospel to every nation, tribe and tongue. Together we sing and remind one another of why we live and have being…

All glory be to Christ our King

All glory be to Christ

His rule and reign we’ll ever sing

All glory be to Christ

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