Have you ever been entangled with thoughts, or even prayers, riddled with anxiety and words similar to these:
“Lord, what is your perfect will for my life?
Is my career on the right track?
Is this the person I’m supposed to be with?
Where do you want me to go, do, and be?!
I believe it blesses God’s heart to know we want His will & guidance in every area of our lives. In fact, to ask direction from the One who knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) is simply wisdom.
What if God is more concerned about the state of our heart in the decisions we make than if we’ve made the “right” one. Will the fruit of the Spirit flow in you as you follow through with your choices? I believe that is one way we can determine God’s will in our every day.
The next time you’re facing what you believe are life-altering decisions or even the tiny day-to-day choices set before you, you may find assurance settling in your heart as you answer these questions:
If I move forward in this direction, will I possess love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?
I believe if we look at those virtues and see that in the “going, doing, and being” we have a heart that is congruent with the fruit of the Spirit, then we can have faith that we are in God’s will.
There’s a spiritual enemy who wants us to have a soul driven by a dictatorial taskmaster but that’s not who our God is! He is the Father & Friend of our heart that says we don’t have to live in fear of being out of His perfect will for our lives.
Rather, we get to restfully be in Him, flowing freely in His Spirit, and allowing the fruit our decisions produce to determine our path.
The moment we find we've stepped outside of the parameters of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, with ourselves or others, we can allow His Spirit to redirect our choices.
As we do, the doubt that attempts to creep in and unsettle our souls can be met with the gift of the Holy Spirit as we align ourselves with His life-giving fruit.
"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things" (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT).