How Do We Know God is At Work?
- Strength For Life
- Jul 13
- 5 min read
“What is God’s will for my life?” We often put this question in the mouth of young people, like high school juniors or college freshmen. The question assumes that a person is on the front side of making major life decisions, and that as he matures he will learn to discern God’s will as he goes along. Here’s another question about God’s will, though, that you may have wondered, even if you have made those decisions already and are well underway into jobs, marriage, or parenting: “How do I know God’s will is being accomplished in my life?” Any Christian with years under their belt knows that the days don’t all “feel” the same. There are times of prosperity, and times of drought; there is no consistent sense that God is at work. The children are passing their grades each year, and the mortgage balance is decreasing, but those are inevitable with the passing of time. What are the signs that God is working in and through your life, specifically?
God’s Eternal Purpose
To answer that question, we should begin broadly. You can know God’s will is being accomplished because God has determined from eternity past that it would be. If you are a child of God, a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, God has a purpose for your life that will be accomplished. His will in this matter cannot be derailed or halted. What is that purpose? To conform you into the image of Christ. Consider the confidence of Romans 8:28-29: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” When you trusted in Christ, you were brought into the inevitable plan of God not only to save you from the penalty of your sins, but also to finish that salvation through sanctifying and glorifying you. “Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Rom. 8:30). God’s will is currently being accomplished in your life because, from eternity past, God had already determined the chain of events that would follow when you believed.
What is the result of understanding the sequence of events from calling to glorifying? “We know that all things work together for good.” As one preacher recently said, “we know” is an indication that it is easy to forget or overlook that particular truth. It is actually quite easy to lose sight of the truth that God is at work. However, despite our forgetfulness, or the current condition of our circumstances, or the persistence of our sin struggles, God is working His will in our lives. He said He would. It is objectively true, and it is something we must take by faith. Whether we are currently aware that God is working out His will in your life, He is.
Signs of God’s Purpose
Now to the second part of the question. What are some observable signs of God accomplishing His work? One sign is that we are making decisions that please the Lord. Whenever we take steps of obedience, we know God is working out His will in us, in real time. Romans 8:14, several verses before Paul explains some of the mechanics of God’s purpose, says that “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:4 says that righteousness is “fulfilled in us who walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Anytime you take a step of obedience, take is as a sign that God is working out His purpose in you of conforming you to the image of Christ.
Before discussing the second piece of Scriptural evidence that God is accomplishing His purposes in you, remember this important Scripture exception: there are always times in the life of God’s people when the Lord feels far away and we cannot see what He is doing, even when we are taking steps of obedience. The evidence for this is not only in your own experience, but in the life of any Biblical saint. Pick one: Abraham or Sarah; Joseph; Moses; Gideon; Samson; Ruth and Naomi. Each experienced extended periods when God was silent and circumstances were painful. We should never forget that observing proof of God’s purposes in our life is not a scientific process. God reveals and conceals His purposes and presence as He wills. The only reasons we can discuss signs of God’s working is because Scripture teaches us, and the Spirit opens our eyes.
With that said, here is the second proof of God’s working out His will in our lives. When the path God is leading us along is the path we also want to pursue, or we are willing to pursue, it is evidence that God’s purposes of Christlikeness is being accomplished. The reason this is evidence of God’s work is because it is a contrast with the way God works with the lost.
No one can escape being part of God’s plans on the earth. Romans 9:21-24 and 2 Timothy 2:19-21 both use the analogy of household vessels to illustrate how people are used by God. Every person has a function, just like every container in your house has a function. Some, like plastic garden shop flower pots, are used briefly before they are discarded. Other containers, like serving bowls, are protected against damage to be reused. Similarly, lost people cannot help but be vessels for God’s purposes. Apart from salvation, their end is destruction and, unlike believers, all things do not work together for their good. Unbelievers are used for God’s purposes, but they often despise and fight against their role. Romans 8:7 says that “the carnal mind is enmity against God.”
Part of the sanctification process in the believer is that we will desire more and more to follow the path God has for us. Philippians 2:12-13 says it this way: “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Christian, when you find God’s desires and plans are united with your desires and plans, be encouraged. The Lord is at work in you. His will is being accomplished. He said He would, and He is. Take courage!
Shouldering responsibility, submitting to spiritual development, and remaining humble: this is what it means to bear your own burden. Without God, nothing. In Christ, everything. And fellowship with and usefulness to the body of Christ will follow. It is simple as that.
The above article was written by Jonathan Kyser. He is a pastoral assistant at NorthStone Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL. To offer him your feedback, comment below or email us at strengthforlife461@gmail.com.
Every Tuesday, SFL publishes relevant Bible-based content. Check back next Tuesday to read the next SFL article.
More SFL...
Comments