Rightly so, we Christians want to know God’s will for our lives. Does He want me to go here, go there, do this, do that? We turn to Him for guidance in the particulars of our lives because we believe that He has our best interest in His heart; He will not lead us astray. But if we don’t act on what we say we know and believe – the practical definition of faith – it’s all just empty talk.

Oftentimes, God doesn’t tell us what His will is for our specific, unique concerns—purposefully. That’s because, although we say we truly trust Him, we don’t; as is evidenced by the way we respond to His known will. For instance, look at these three examples…

• Ps. 40: 8, “I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.” Clearly, it is God’s will that we keep His commandments. It’s stated elsewhere too, as in, “If you love Me, keep my commandments,” (John 14:15) and,“If you say you know me, but don’t keep my commandments, you are a liar” (1 John 2: 4). Yet, the practice in most of Christendom is to break God’s 4^th commandment.

• 2 Cor. 5: 15, “And He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” Many follow teachers who won’t work with the Holy Spirit, whose mission is to convict concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. Instead, with itching ears, they accept the preaching of self-satisfaction. They live not for Jesus, but for their one own works of ego building and self-improvement, which is nothing more than self-righteousness.

• 1 Thess. 4: 3-5, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like those who do not know God.” Sadly, there are many who think that God is fine with them having sex outside of marriage; having extra marital affairs; engaging in homosexual acts; ruining their bodies with alcohol and tobacco.

Those are just three of many known examples of God’s will for our lives; written down, clearly expressed. But if we’re not doing His will that is plain as day, what makes us think we’ll follow His will that is given to us in any other way?

Why in the world would God bother responding to our requests for His unknown will in everyday matters that aren’t touched on by the Bible: Should I marry this person? Should I take the out of town job? What school should I attend? And so on.

I suspect that God won’t reveal His will in these kinds of situations when we’re intent on doing things our way. That will change when we first become obedient to His known will.