Zambia Hunt

Many Christians in Zambia struggle to know God’s specific will for their individual lives. There is a sincere desire to understand and be obedient to what God wants, but also much confusion about how to discern it. 

Some try to discover God’s specific will through seeking mystical experiences – visions, dreams or words claimed to be direct revelations from God through a “prophet.” However, these subjective phenomena cannot be objectively verified as truly from God. Yet many believers still invest great amounts of time, travel and money chasing such “words from God” from self-proclaimed prophets.

Others adopt the view that as long as a decision doesn’t violate clear moral commands, God doesn’t have a specific will about life’s choices – so they simply do whatever feels right in the moment based on personal preferences.

So how can a Christian go about discovering God’s specific, individual will for their circumstances and decisions?

The first step is to root yourself in God’s general will (See previous post) revealed in Scripture – being saved, submitted to the authority of God’s Word, walking in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s control, and pursuing sanctification. Only once this foundation is laid can you properly discern His specific guidance.

Here are some biblical principles for recognizing God’s specific will:

1. Evaluate your heart’s posture – Am I living a life of full obedience and submission to Scripture? Do I genuinely desire to know and do God’s will above my own?

2. Pray for the Spirit to give you a burden and desire in line with God’s will as you become aware of needs related to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). He often plants passion and vision as part of calling.

3. Saturate yourself in Scripture, as the Holy Spirit will never lead you contrary to God’s revealed Word (Psalm 119:105). All needed guidance comes through diligent study of the Bible.

4. Seek wise, godly counsel from mature believers filled with the Spirit, but don’t depend solely on other’s subjective words (Proverbs 11:14, 15:22, 24:6).

5. Be attentive to how God directs through the opening and closing of doors via circumstances, as He did with Paul (Acts 16:6-10). Don’t be paralyzed waiting for revelation – step out in faithful obedience and watch for His lead.

6. Confirm God’s specific direction through an inexplicable peace and confidence in your heart (Philippians 4:7). When motives are right, this inner witness affirms His stamp of approval.

No single method is sufficient on its own to grasp God’s will. As someone wise once described it, the process is like a series of stoplights we must obey – If one light is red, stop until it turns green again before proceeding. If all the lights are green, you can move forward in confidence.

For Paul and his missionary team, this model of careful, confirmed steps was vital because there would be intense opposition and suffering once God’s specific will became clear (Acts 16:22-24). But having the assurance they were in God’s will allowed them to joyfully endure.

Discovering God’s specific will requires humility, patience, wisdom and a heart fully devoted to obeying His general revealed will first. As you commit yourself to Him, He will “make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6) by illuminating specific directions for your life circumstances one step at a time. Don’t be paralyzed by fear or doubtful uncertainty – launch out in obedient faith today according to the light He has already given.