[(Omega)]

It says in John 6:29, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent". There is no real distinction in this passage between the work which God wants us to do and His Will which desires that work. God wants all to be saved (1Tim.2:4); that is His "will". We can certainly extrapolate from this that God wants what is best for us in every case, and we also know that what is pleasing to Him is what is best for us. There is thus not a millimeter of daylight between God's will and our best interests as they are truly (and divinely) defined:

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. (Romans 8:28)

If we truly "love God", and if everything we do reflects this perfectly, then everything we do dovetails perfectly with everything He is doing for us. That is the ideal. In practice of course we are imperfect. We are imperfect in our knowledge, in our faith, and in our application. But "doing what is well-pleasing to Him" is indeed the key to doing His will and, consequently, what is most beneficial to us in every way. In broad terms we know exactly what is "His will". We know He wants us to be saved, and, once saved, to follow His Son our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That means growing in the truth by hearing it and believing it, putting that truth into practice in all we think, say and do, making progress in our walk, and making progress in the preparation for and implementation of the particular ministries to the Body to which we have been severally called.

God gives us a good deal of leeway in how we approach more mundane and general matters. As Paul says, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not". We are soldiers who have been entrusted with a very important mission (spiritual growth, progress, and production). But our commanding officer has left it in our hands precisely how we are to go about it. As we grow and proceed, things will become more and more clear to us in regards to our particular path, and as the Spirit makes things clear to us in general terms, it is our responsibility to respond both generally and specifically. For example, if we are called to go to seminary, it behooves us to prepare in all appropriate ways for that experience ahead of time (that would certainly be "the will of God"). But as far as the more mundane specifics of our life are concerned, we are charged with growing spiritually, and our spiritual growth, the building up of our consciences, and the ever more clear testimony of the Spirit to our hearts as we grow will all combine to increase our "spiritual I.Q." so as to give us the guidance we need to figure out whether a particular action (or refraining from action) is truly "profitable" or not. We know not to sin, of course. And as we become more convinced about what it Jesus is calling us to do in this life, we begin to make decisions which are supportive of that specific mission we have been given. Indeed, the more "reward motivated" we become (and in the Christian life the motivation of eternal rewards is not only legitimate but extremely important), the more we find ourselves deferring present comfort and enjoyment for the sake of the "mission". You only have to take a look at a person like Paul to see what near perfect "mission-dedication" looks like. Paul came as close as anyone ever has (outside of our Lord Jesus whose approach was perfect of course) to subordinating his personal wants and desires to the "best possible" response to the Will of God, and as a result his eternal reward will be one of the greatest for all eternity.

It is not as if there is only one possible outcome or that every decision hinges on some very specific communication of the will of God to us (in cases where a contemplated action or inaction is not sinful). We have free-will faith, and that is at its essence the ability (and opportunity) to respond to the Lord by doing what is well-pleasing to Him. This "first best will" is not a matter of passive decisions concerning the mundane and largely unimportant things of life -- unimportant, that is, if divorced from our overall purpose. This "first best will" only even comes into play once we have begun to move forward spiritually, once we have decided to seek Him and follow Him, once we have begun to discover and */believe/* His truth, putting it into practice in our lives not only defensively (by avoiding sin), but offensively (by growing, applying the truth to life, passing tests, and serving Jesus through our spiritual gifts). It is only in that light that this question even becomes important. That is because for the vast majority of Christians who are sitting on their hand and not growing, progressing and producing, asking "what is God's will?" is absolutely ridiculous: God's will is that they get up and get moving, start seeking the truth, believe and apply it, start passing tests and living the Word, start following Jesus */forward/*, and begin to employ their gifts in the service of the growth of His Body the Church. Only then does this question become relevant, and, inevitably, when it does the person in question is already largely */doing/* God's will, so that more mundane questions on this score begin to answer themselves. Once we begin to ask ourselves "Is this the best way to carry out my mission? Will this help or hinder my efforts to gain the maximum possible reward in this life", then we are very close to seeing the will of clearly in all things great and small.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

In the One who will reward us for everything we have done for Him on that great day of days, our dear Lord Jesus Christ.

God Bless!