We have been on a journey together, wrestling with one of the most vital questions any believer can face: How do we truly discern God’s will for our lives? In recent days I have had several conversations touching on this very matter—whether to wait patiently for absolute clarity or to step forward in what feels right, how to avoid rushing ahead presumptuously, and how to know we are walking in His path rather than our own. These are not small issues. They touch the core of our daily walk with the Lord.
The Steps of a Good Man
As it is written in Psalm 37:23 (NKJV), “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.” I have reflected on this verse deeply because of those recent conversations. It seems to me that the vast majority of Christians live on one extreme or the other when it comes to knowing God’s will—especially in the big things: where to live, what work to pursue, ministry calling, major life decisions.
Many believers do not want to rush into anything. They genuinely say, “I only want to do what God wants me to do.” Amen to that desire. Yet I have asked people in recent weeks, “What is your expiration date for this season? How long will you stay in this waiting?” The danger is real: you can spend years—sometimes decades—in limbo land, always waiting for something to become perfectly clear. That is one extreme.
The other extreme is equally perilous. We decide we know God’s will, we move ahead, and it turns out to be our own desires leading us. We rush in, convinced we are being led by the Spirit, when in reality we are being led by ourselves.
Surrendering Our Will to His Sovereignty
As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39, NKJV). Our starting point must always be this: God, I want Your will. I want Your will to supersede my will. You have a plan, a design, a purpose for my life, and I do not want to call my will Your will.
We should pray the prayer Jesus prayed—not my will, but Yours be done. We submit our will to His will. God is sovereign; He is over everything. Every desire, every choice we make should sit nested within His overall will.
Yet here is the second truth, and it is vital we grasp both sides. This is not an either/or matter, any more than the tension between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility is resolved by choosing one side. We submit ourselves fully to God’s will, but God is genuinely interested in our desires, in what we want, in the choices that rise up within us.
Consider the building of the first temple. David had it in his heart to build a house for God, but the Lord would not allow him because he was a man of war. Solomon then built the temple over many decades. When it was dedicated, the glory of God filled the place, and the Lord spoke. He said He had not chosen the place nor commanded a temple to be built. His choice had been David. It was in David’s heart to do this thing, so God blessed it.
The bricks, the stone, the mortar—these were not God’s initial choice. His choice was a man whose heart longed to honor Him, and because of that heart, God blessed the work. Of course I believe a temple was part of God’s will in the end. The point is this: God was interested in the man more than the method. He placed desires in David’s heart and blessed what flowed from that surrendered desire.
So choosing between God’s will and my will is actually both/and, not either/or.
Delighting in the Lord and Moving Forward
As Psalm 37:4 (NKJV) declares, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” We begin with complete surrender: Lord, not my will, but Yours be done—whatever that may cost. Then we are free to dream, to explore, to build, to delight ourselves in the Lord.
Here is what I want you to grasp. You do not discover God’s will by sitting in a holding pattern, like waiting endlessly in an airport terminal staring at departure screens. You do not find His will by passive waiting. If you have been stuck for months or years on a major decision, waiting for perfect clarity, I want to suggest lovingly that you may be missing something. It is possible you are not—but the danger is real that you could waste precious seasons.
Moses waited forty years in Midian, yes. But the greater danger is spending forty years waiting and discovering later you simply wasted the time. God’s will should become clearer the longer we wait on Him, the more we delight ourselves in Him. We enter seasons of inquiring of the Lord, where ideas stir in our hearts and we ask, “Lord, is this from You or from me?”
As we seek His face—not merely His directions, but Him—the things that are from God grow stronger. Remember Aaron’s rod placed before the Lord; it budded, blossomed, and bore almonds. When we come into His presence seeking the Guide rather than just guidance, what is divine begins to flourish while what is merely human begins to fade.
There is an old hymn that says, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” If you sit frozen, hoping someday clarity will drop from heaven while you do nothing, you may actually be out of His will. Whatever God has called you to, there is a version of it you can walk in today.
Faith, Not Time, Unlocks Guidance
As Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) states, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Everything in the kingdom of God works by faith, not by time. If your foundational understanding of finding God’s will is off, waiting five more years will not fix it—you will simply be five years older and still confused.
God loves me, but I experience His love when I believe He loves me. If I beg Him to show me His love, frustration grows. But if I come declaring, “Lord, I thank You that You love me because Your Word says so,” I begin to experience it. David said, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13, NKJV).
Guidance works the same way. When we believe our steps are ordered by the Lord, our steps become ordered by the Lord. When we believe we are being guided according to His Word, we are being guided.
One final point—God cannot order your steps until you are walking. It is hard to steer a parked car. The rudder of a ship is useless until the vessel moves; only then does water flow against it and allow direction. If you are waiting for guidance but refusing to move, most of the time you are not in God’s will.
We do not wait for God. We wait on God.
In the end, discerning God’s will flows from surrender to His sovereignty, delight in His presence, and active steps taken by faith. We lay our desires on the altar, then pursue what stirs within us as we seek Him first. Clarity comes not in stillness alone but in movement guided by trust in His Word. Step out today in what you know, holding it all lightly before Him, and watch how He directs.
Selah.
Scriptures for Study: Psalm 37:23, Matthew 26:39, Psalm 37:4, Hebrews 11:6, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 5:17, James 1:5, Psalm 32:8, Isaiah 30:21, John 10:27, Proverbs 16:9, Colossians 1:9, Psalm 143:10, Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28, Philippians 2:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Psalm 25:4-5, John 16:13, Acts 16:6-10, Proverbs 19:21, Matthew 6:10, Psalm 27:13, 1 John 5:14.
10 Questions for Reflection:
- Where in your life right now are you caught in limbo, waiting for perfect clarity before moving?
- How have you experienced the balance between surrendering your will and allowing God-given desires to guide you?
- In what ways might fear of making a wrong choice be keeping you from stepping forward in faith?
- Reflect on a season when delighting in the Lord caused something not from Him to fade—what did that feel like?
- How does the truth that guidance comes through movement challenge your current waiting posture?
- Consider the temple story—what desires has God placed in your heart that you have not yet pursued?
- Where might you be begging for signs instead of believing God’s Word and walking in what you already know?
- How can faith replace time as the mechanism for experiencing God’s direction in your decisions?
- What small step could you take today in an area where you sense God’s leading, even if not fully clear?
- In what practical ways can you shift from waiting for God to waiting on God in your daily life?
