“God . . . invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, even Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9 TLB).

God isn’t playing games with you. He wants you to understand his will, his purpose, and his plan for your life.

You may say, “I want God to guide me, but I still get confused. I don’t know what to do.” Often the problem is we’re looking for the wrong thing. You need to know what you’re looking for before you can find it.

So, what is God’s will?

God’s will is not a feeling.

Maybe you are looking for a feeling or a supernatural sign. You want God to pull your heartstrings so you’ll know exactly what to do.

The problem is that feelings are unreliable; they will often guide you the wrong way. Feelings can come from fatigue, hormones, or an event you’ve just experienced. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful” (NIV). Even your heart plays tricks on you. Even the Devil can create a feeling. If I had listened to my feelings, I never would have married my wife, Kay. The day before the wedding, my feelings said, “Run!” But that wasn’t God’s will. That was fear!

Don’t wait for a feeling when you’re trying to figure out God’s plan for your life.

God’s will is not a formula.

In our culture, we want everything to be easy. We want things to follow a simple formula that will instantly change our lives. We want a step-by-step guide.

But there’s a problem with this approach: There’s no room for mistakes. If God’s will is a recipe, what happens if you leave out one ingredient? Leaving baking soda out of a recipe is the difference between a birthday cake and a pancake. What if you have “52 Steps to Knowing God’s Will,” and you skip step 37?

God’s will is not a closed system. It is dynamic! It is not always an issue of choosing A or B. In fact, many times you can choose from A to Z, and any of them will be okay. It’s your choice. Why would God give you a brain and not expect you to use it? He lets you make choices, and he gives you second chances.

If God’s will is not a feeling or a formula, what is it?

God’s will is a relationship.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 1:9, “God . . . invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, even Christ our Lord” (TLB).

We find very little in the Bible about the technique of knowing God’s will. But we see thousands of verses that talk about developing a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. Why? Because God’s will is a relationship.

The better you get to know God, the less confusion you’ll have about what his will is. Get to know God, and everything else becomes secondary.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk It Over

• If you experience a feeling that you believe is telling you something about God’s will, what is a right, appropriate response?
• Why do you think God allows us to make choices and even mistakes when we are searching for his will?
• How well do you know God — and how can you get to know God better?

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9 NLT).

The Bible tells us three things about the importance of faith.

1. God is looking for faithful people.

God is physically, visibly, actively taking the initiative to look for faithful people that he can bless. Second Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (NLT).

This has been one of my life verses, and I’ve learned that if you make yourself usable, God will wear you out. If you get “blessable,” he will bless your socks off! (That’s why I don’t wear socks.) God is looking for faithful people that he can use.

2. Faithful people are hard to find.

The Bible says in Proverbs 20:6, “Everyone talks about how faithful he is, but just try to find someone who really is!” (GNT). A lot of people talk the talk, but they don’t really trust God. They trust their credit card instead. They say they believe in God, but they don’t really trust him when it comes to their finances, health, or job.

Psalm 53:2-3 says this: “God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” (NLT).

3. Faithfulness is the key to blessing and victory.

First John 5:4-5 says, “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God” (NLT).

The Bible says in Proverbs 28:20, “A faithful man will have many blessings” (HCSB). I want your life to have many blessings. But to have those blessings, you have to learn faithfulness. God tests your faithfulness in different ways. Will you let him grow you in this area so that you can be a person of faith?

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk About It

• What are some ways that God has tested or is testing your faithfulness?
• What people do you look up to because you consider them faithful — people who are full of faith for the Lord? What attributes do they have in common?

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God — truly righteous and holy. So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body” (Ephesians 4:21-25 NLT).

To change the unhealthy habits in your life, you need people who tell you the truth. You’re not going to get well on your own; you’re going to need other people in your life. You’re going to need support. You’re going to need a small group. Change requires honest community.

You’ll never change some things in your life on your own — typically, the things that are the most difficult in your life and the things that you don’t want anybody else to know about.

You’re never getting over those things until you share them with someone. You don’t have to tell everybody. You just need to find one person who will trust you and whom you trust — someone who will be confidential, love you unconditionally, not be judgmental, and pray for you. Revealing your feeling is the beginning of healing.

This does not mean a small group where you get together on a superficial level and everyone is “fine” or “doing great.” You have to get to the level of maturity in your small group where you can say, “I had a tough week. Life stinks. Here’s what happened.”

“So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body” (Ephesians 4:25 NLT).

If you’re a believer, you’re also a belonger. You belong in the family of God, and every other believer belongs to you. You cannot become until you belong. You can’t become what God wants you to be until you belong in a group that’s going to pursue gut-level, honest community. Put away falsehood. Talk to your neighbor. Tell your friend the truth, because we belong to each other.

If you are serious about changing the deepest hang-ups in your heart and the deeply entrenched self-defeating behaviors in your life, you must face the fear of being honest. You’ve got to stop faking it. You’ve got to put away falsehood. You’ve got to be real.

You can go through life either pretending like you’ve got it all together or getting it all together. But you’ll never get it all together as long as you pretend you’ve got it all together. And you’re never going to get well, get healed, get rid of that area that’s hindering you in your life until you talk to somebody about it.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk About It

• How would you describe your small group’s level of transparency? Are you “real” with each other?
• What has been the result of pretending like you have it all together? How do you feel?