An "Ask the Preacher" article as it has appeared in the Santa Rosa Press Gazette (Milton, Florida). The author is Pastor Carl Gallups of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church in Milton, Florida. Click HERE to go to the Main Index page of Hickory Hammock Baptist Church to read many more such articles. This article is copyrighted by Carl Gallups and may be reproduced provided that copyright notice is given.



Pastor Gallups - " I have some very important decisions to make in my life. How can I know the will of God?" - J.J. - Pace

Dear J.J, First, I believe that it is of utmost importance that you belong to God personally through a born again, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Then, you are truly one of God's children and Jesus promised us that He desires to share His will and heart with His children as they seek His face and direction in life. After this, the next most important factor in knowing God's will is knowing God's Word!

You see, J.J., in the Word, the Bible, God reveals His very specific will about so many areas of our life concerning our sexuality, marriage, worship, career principles, integrity, holiness, relationships with other people, etc. We may not always like what He reveals, but He DOES reveal it! Even in those cases where the Bible doesn't address something specifically about our life, there is ALWAYS a Biblical principle to govern the decision we need to make.

J.J., I would also encourage you to PRAY. I have found that often when I commit a very important decision to serious and committed prayer, that the Lord eventually reveals to me through open doors, circumstances, other people, wise counsel, etc., His will for that situation that I have been praying about.

The Lord Jesus sometimes reveals his will to us when we seek godly counsel concerning our decisions. The key word here is "Godly"! There is a lot of advice out there. Make sure the advice you seek is from someone who has a dynamic and real relationship with Jesus. Of course, ALWAYS measure any advice against the truth of God's Word. See how it keeps coming back to that principle?

The overarching key is be sure that you are sold out the Lord Jesus Christ and that you are willing to be obedient to walking in His will once He reveals it to you. I think, J.J., that if these things are important in your life, you will find that discovering God's will for your life in any area, will be a lot easier than you might think!