When we think about God’s will for our lives, we often imagine it as a specific, detailed plan we must decipher. Like an invisible corn maze that could lead to a dead-end if we make the wrong decision. Because of this mindset, we end up agonizing over decisions, wondering if we’re missing some divine message about the right job to take, the right person to marry, or the right city to live in. But perhaps we misplaced the pressure we feel to discern every detail of God’s plan. What if God’s will isn’t something we can fully know or control?  

How can we understand God’s will for our lives? Let’s break it down into three categories.   

How to Understand God’s Will

1. God’s Sovereign Will. This is the across-the-board “plan” that accounts for everything that happens in the universe. It is the idea that everything, both good and bad, is woven into God’s ultimate plan. Nothing is wasted in God’s economy, and He has authority over all events, big and small. This understanding asserts that God is actively working through all circumstances to fulfill His purposes.  

Of course, this does not mean that God ordains all events or endorses all things that happen because God is not the author of evil. God does not cause evil to occur nor force it to happen. But we can find comfort in knowing that when we experience pain or hardship because of evil in this life, God is actively working everything for our good and His glory. 

Joni Eareckson Tada, in “The God I Love,” puts it better than I ever could: “God permits the things He hates in order to accomplish the things that He loves.” 

Romans 8:28 (NIV) also reminds us:  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”    

Knowing this should deeply encourage us because when it comes to what is happening in the world or our personal lives, we can trust that God is aware of all the details and that He is still in control. No matter what happens, God’s plan can’t and won’t be thwarted. Like C.S. Lewis wrote in his book “Perelandra,” “To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere.” If something happens outside of His knowledge or control, we have a much bigger problem because now we have a god who isn’t really God.   

2. God’s Moral Will. This refers to the straightforward, revealed principles and commands by God in Scripture to guide how we live in relation with God and others. It encompasses the ethical standards and moral guidelines that God expects us to follow, such as loving our neighbors, acting justly, and avoiding sin. Unlike God’s sovereign will, which involves everything that happens, God’s moral will is revealed and accessed through careful interpretation of Scripture with the help of the Holy Spirit.  

 God’s moral will helps us discern between right and wrong. While Scripture doesn’t address every potential scenario we could face, it sets the framework for making godly choices by showing us what behaviors and attitudes are righteous or sinful. 

3. God’s Unrevealed Will. Last but not least, this refers to the unrevealed part of God’s plan—hidden from us and not meant to be discerned or known ahead of time. It refers to God’s specific purposes for individual events or decisions in our lives that we cannot fully understand or predict. We can often recognize God’s secret will after things have happened, but it’s not something we are meant to uncover through signs or feelings in advance. 

Rather than trying to discover God’s secret will, Scripture emphasizes that we trust that God is in control and that His will is being accomplished, even if we don’t have all the details. Walking by faith means trusting God’s plan without needing to understand every detail in advance.  

Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV) reminds us, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”  

Finding Freedom in Faithful Decision-Making

So now that we understand how God’s will is described in Scripture (sovereign, moral, secret), consider how this new perspective changes how we make decisions, both big and small. 

Remember not to overcomplicate important decisions. While it’s important to carefully consider your decisions, I also don’t want people to feel paralyzed by the fear that God is wringing His hands in Heaven, hoping you make the right decision. We often want to know with certainty what God wants us to do, but it’s important to understand that our role isn’t necessarily to find the “one right answer” but to seek a process that aligns our hearts with God’s principles and trust Him with the outcome.  

Let’s consider a young man, Josh, who is trying to decide where to go to college. He’s a godly individual seeking guidance through prayer and Bible reading. He wants to know which path will keep him in the center of God’s will. How should Josh approach this? First, he should gather as much information as possible about his options—educationally, spiritually, financially, and personally.  

Josh might be looking for a specific answer from the Bible, but while Scripture provides wisdom and principles, it often doesn’t offer specific answers for personal decisions like which college to attend. That’s not the purpose of God’s Word.  

At its very foundation, God’s Word should be understood as a story of how sin entered the world through humanity, how God has provided a way for humans to be reconciled with Him again, and how He will one day return to restore His heavenly kingdom on earth. While it does contain moral commands for us to adhere to, by no means should we look at Scripture like a divine behavior manual. When we approach the Bible by asking questions that it isn’t answering, we do ourselves a great disservice in trying to understand its message.  

Ultimately, Josh’s situation shows that he has been granted a great deal of freedom in this decision. Whether he wants to go to college, study abroad, or go in a completely different direction, he can trust that God will direct his steps and work through his unique circumstances to accomplish His purposes.  

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Oswald Chambers in his book, “My Utmost for His Highest,” summarizes this idea beautifully:   

“When you have a right-standing relationship with God, you have a life of freedom, liberty, and delight; you are God’s will. And all of your commonsense decisions are actually His will for you, unless you sense a feeling of restraint brought on by a check in your spirit. You are free to make decisions in the light of a perfect and delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong He will lovingly produce that sense of restraint.”  

So, what is God’s will for your life? While our decisions in this stage of life are undoubtedly significant, God’s desire, above all else, is for us to become more like Jesus. Whether that involves getting married, having children, going to a specific college, or taking that particular job, wherever we find ourselves, we should see that our primary goal is the same: to point people to Jesus.  

In the end, many of life’s decisions are not about right or wrong but about choosing the path that glorifies God the most. As we make these choices, we can rest assured that God is with us, guiding us and working all things together for our good. 

So, the next time you’re faced with a decision, remember this: God’s will is not a secret blueprint you need to decode. It’s about living faithfully, making choices that honor Him, and trusting that He is in control, no matter which path you choose. 

This article was originally titled “Code: Future” in the March 2025 issue of Peer Magazine.