God has a will, a daily will, a perpetual will for every person He has created. That means that He has designed a custom-made plan for you even from before the foundation of the world as Paul said: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10).

One of the best illustrations in this respect is the calling of Jeremiah, the prophet. Here are the words of God’s plan which He revealed to him: Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations (Jer. 1:4-5). Look at this beautiful sequence of words concerning this prophet even before his birth:

“I knew thee;”       “I sanctified thee;”       “I ordained thee.”

Just as God had a specific purpose and a carefully designed plan for Jeremiah to follow, even from before he was born, so He has one for you. It may be that of a lawyer, a farmer, a fisherman, a doctor, a housewife, a seamstress, a nurse or an engineer. Whenever you are in God’s specific plan, you are sanctified, ordained and in your pulpit just as Jeremiah was. Do not ever strive for anything else. This is where you will bring forth much fruit and this is also the only place where you will reach full satisfaction. Now let us notice that:

Doing God’s Will Is Proof of Abrahamic Faith

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went (Heb. 11:8).

Yes, By faith Abraham...obeyed... Faith was demonstrated through his life, and the lifeblood of that faith was his obedience. If you are not obeying, then you will not be abiding; and if you are not abiding, then you shall be cut off as a branch from the vine to be cast into the fire (John 15:6).

Abounding Blessings Await You When You Do God’s Will

1. If you are doing God’s will, you shall bring forth much fruit. Your emphasis must not be on producing fruit but on doing God’s will. If a chicken eats what is set before it, the eggs will follow naturally. If your meat is to do God’s will, you will naturally bring forth much fruit. And it will not be by the works of the flesh, by planning, by striving, by pushing, by pressing and manipulating, but it will be by the Spirit. Over and over again, men come up with plans to get something done. But Jesus says: ...He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit... (John 15:5). Attend to obeying, which is abiding, and God will take care of providing fruit.

2. Living a life of doing God’s will gives you spiritual discernment. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself (John 7:17). You can read all kinds of theological and religious books, study the Scriptures, and wear yourself out consulting scholars to know what is of God and what is of man. But if you are not walking in the will of God, you will come short in discernment about which doctrines are of God and which are of man.

The Pharisees intensely studied all aspects of the Old Testament Scriptures including the jots and tittles (the smallest letters and accent marks). Yet their knowledge did not give them spiritual discernment. With all of their Bible studies and intelligence, they did not recognize Jesus as the Son of God. They killed Him. But Peter, Andrew, Nathaniel, Lazarus and John the Baptist, although they were not the greatest of scholars, were all men who, because they lived in the will of God, instantly knew that Jesus was the Messiah. Bible study without doing the will of God produces Pharisees: Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 3:7).

3. Living a life of doing God’s will delivers you from carrying burdens that are not yours to carry. Many of you are overloaded with burdens that are not yours to carry. They make you depressed, anxious and discouraged. These burdens load you down. They often make you unfit to fight and win the battle of faith. Do not let others put burdens upon you that are theirs to carry. Do not give in to pressure from men. Jesus said: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matt. 11:30). Praise the Lord! This means that Jesus will never give you a heavy burden; men will, but Jesus will not. As long as you are under His yoke, yoked together with Him, your burdens will be light. By doing God’s will, you will be able to discern which burdens are yours to carry and which are not.

4. By living a life of doing God’s will, you will have divine love for all. The Bible says: ...the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Rom. 5:5). Human love has its limits. You can try, but you will have a difficult time overriding resentments, anger and bitterness residing deep in your heart. Human love does not flow like a river. At best, it is a trickle of human effort. But if you have divine love, it will flow like a fountain to all men—to enemies and friends alike. Only by God’s divine love can you fulfill Jesus’ command: Love your enemies (Matt. 5:44).

5. When you are doing God’s will, you are able to receive revelations from God. As you walk with God pursuing His will, Jesus will open the Scriptures to you as He did to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. He will also provide you with secrets of His kingdom.

6. When you are doing God’s will, you will learn to be in the right places at the right time speaking the right words with the right spirit. Peter was obedient to do God’s will and that is why the Holy Spirit sent him to Cornelius’ house (Acts 10). Philip was living a life of doing God’s will when the Holy Spirit had him talk to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:29). Paul also walked in the will of God, and God revealed His plan for him to go to Macedonia (Acts 16:9). When you are doing the will of God, you go by revelation and not by reason. God will speak to you. Remember, the same Holy Spirit which dwelt in Christ’s body 2000 years ago also dwells in the bodies of all those who do His will today. Therefore, you can learn to walk with God even as Jesus did.

7. If you are doing God’s will, God can trust you with everything. God gives each one of His children as much to do in proportion to how much He can trust them with. If God does not use you in His kingdom, that means He cannot trust you. God has neither underemployed nor unemployed servants. And remember that God does not care much about your natural gifts. He does not work through the natural but through the supernatural: He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man (Ps. 147:10). What God gives by His Spirit, that is what He will work through. Do not try to advertise yourself and do not try to advertise your gifts and talents. Let God do the advertising. If He does not, it is a strong sign that you need to spend a lot more time in some wilderness as Moses did for 40 years. Then, when you are ready, God will draft you into what He has for you. He drafted His twelve apostles, He drafted Stephen the deacon, He drafted Aquila and Priscilla and so forth. In time, He will show you your place of ministry; count on it. You may even be in it already and not know it because you are looking for something “bigger;” and you may miss what is right around you.

8. If you are doing God’s will, you can wait until God leads. Abraham waited 19 years to get his first son and then God asked him to offer him up as a sacrifice. Later, God kept Moses in the wilderness tending sheep for 40 years before He could trust him to shepherd men. God had Paul wait in the Arabian desert for three years before He sent him to Jerusalem to begin his public ministry. John the Baptist, even though filled with the Holy Spirit from birth, had to wait 30 years before God anointed him to preach. Before any man can be used of God, God has to do a work in him; he has to be set aside to be broken.

When you are in God’s will, all that is His is yours.

(This is an edited excerpt from the book Praying the Will of God by Reimar A.C. Schultze)