His will is best

Greg Laurie is the author of 12 inspirational books, which are available online.

Does God still speak to us today?

Is He interested in what happens to us as individuals?

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Does He truly have a master plan for our lives?

If so, how do I discover it? How do I hear His voice? How can I know the will of God?

These are all important questions, and the answer to the first one sets us on an exciting journey of discovery. Yes, God does speak to us today – and especially to His own children. And how do you become His child? I will answer that at the end of this article. But we who have put our faith in Jesus Christ are not simply victims of chance in a random world, hoping against hope our luck won't run out on us. Just as God led men and women in the pages of Scripture, so He wants to lead us. There are, however, no foolproof formulas or "easy as 1-2-3" steps we can follow that will instantaneously reveal God's will to us at our every whim.

But let there be no doubt: God guides His own. The gospel of John tells us that Jesus "calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. (John 10:3-4)

The good news is that God does not play hide and seek with us. He wants to lead you even more than you want to be led. God is more concerned about keeping us in His will than we are to be kept in it!

Far too often we can make knowing God's will into something misty, mystical and otherworldly. And yet through my years of walking with God, I have found that there are concrete, practical steps we as believers can take to more easily grasp and understand His will.

God's way becomes plain when we start walking in it. But sometimes we fear or don't like His plan, and don't want to follow it.

Here's an example of how we might refuse God's better way. The following is a fictional transcript of a conversation between the captain of a U.S. Navy ship with Canadian authorities off the coast of Canada. Though the conversation did not actually occur, it still teaches a critical lesson:

Canadians: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

Americans: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collision.

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Canadians: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the captain of a U.S. Navy ship. I say again, divert your course!

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Canadians: No. I say again, you divert your course.

Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States Atlantic fleet. Three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels accompany us. I demand that you change your course 15 degrees north. I say again, that's one five degrees north, or counter measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call!

Often, we're just like that Navy captain when it comes to the will of God. We want Him to divert His course when we're in desperate need of diverting our own. Above all else, however, we should keep one important fact in mind: In the long run, God's will is always better than our will.

In the long run?

The reality is at certain times in our lives we may not understand or even like God's will. If you were to interview young Joseph, deep in the bowels of an Egyptian prison on a trumped up rape charge (Genesis 39-40), he may have not been all that excited about the will of God for his life. But if you were to talk to him just a short time later, after he came into power as the second in command of Egypt, he might have preached a sermon to you about the value of waiting for God's will.

Keep this in mind. God is always looking out for your spiritual and eternal welfare. We tend to look out for our physical and immediate welfare. But what is good now may not be for eternity. And what is difficult now may be the best thing for the endless ages to come.

Consider these encouraging words the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers living in Corinth:

For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

Yes, God guides His own children, but the essential question is whether you are truly a child of God.

Let me say this upfront. We are not, as some would suggest, "all God's children." Sure, we are all created by God and share in His image and likeness, but according to Jesus, that's not enough to be rightfully considered God's child.

Jesus told us that becoming a child of God does not come by physical birth, but by a spiritual rebirth (John 3:3-7). This miracle of regeneration occurs by personally receiving Jesus Christ into your heart and life as your friend, Savior and Lord. Your rebirth into God's family comes from God's grace in response to your faith in Him.

The Scriptures put it this way: "But to all who receive him, who believe in his name, he gives the right to become children of God."( John 1:12)

Each of us needs to make that decision.

I hope that you already have and are discovering the will of God for your life.