One of the great limitations that religion put on us is the idea that the will of God is some secret mysterious plan of God's that he rarely lets us in on. We struggle making decisions about the pursuit of our dreams because we are waiting for a "sign" that we should do this or that. Sadly, we never feel we are in the perfect will of God, and actually miss following our heart in the process. See the will of God isn't found in the Bible. It is found very simply in your own heart.
In my new book, Beyond Your Wildest Dreams: Access, Activate and Achieve Your Heart's Desires I wrote this...
"What is God’s will for my life? How many people have asked that question? The problem is that it is the wrong question to ask. What??? Yes. First of all the Bible isn’t going to tell you whether you should marry Susan or Mariah. It isn’t going to tell you whether you should become an astronaut or an accountant. So you aren’t going to find those specific answers in the Bible.
In fact, most of the scriptures that speak about the will of God have to do with one of two things:
1) Jesus is the Father’s will, the center of His affection, the height of His glory.
2) You are the will of God. He chose you and wanted you.
3) We are being conformed into His image. In other words, the will of God is for you to grow up into Christ, looking more like His love…for your benefit. The will of God is for you to love yourself, love people, and love life. It has very little to do with an absolute, predetermined direction for your life.
What about being “led by the Spirit”? The context of that passage from Romans 8 is not about Him saying “turn here” or “go there.” The context says those who are led by the Spirit are creating personal evidence to themselves that they are sons of God by continually growing in leaving their false identity behind. They focus on being led into greater expressions of their true nature, or as Abraham Lincoln said, “the better angels of our nature.”
Of course, God can speak to you and give you direction and wisdom for your life. He can give you a sense of outward purpose for your life. I am doing what I am doing today because God has directed me many times, but His “big picture” promises to me have never been inconsistent from my own heart’s desires.
Not everyone gets a bright light encounter, though. That could be the lowest form of direction, because it means we are not listening to our heart. In fact, most of the time your sense of direction seems very natural. Paul said, “It is God who works in us to will and do of His good pleasure.” And Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself also in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart”. So if it is in your heart, and it doesn’t harm others, then go for it. This is a yes and amen Gospel. All the promises of God are yes and amen.
I was even taught that when Paul said we should renew our minds and prove what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God, that he was teaching that God has a good will, an acceptable will, and then a perfect will. No, they are not concentric circles with each one being different. He is saying that the will of God is for you to be conformed to the image of Christ and overcome evil with good, and live from love. Those things are good and acceptable to God and perfect, or mature expressions of His will."