Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7As a pastor, I’m often asked questions about God’s will. “What does God want me to do?” is the most common. Others include: “Where does God want me to live?” “Who does God want me to marry?”
This may surprise you, but you won’t find answers to those questions in the Bible. God’s focus isn’t much on the externals; He’s interested in what’s happening inside you. God’s will is 98 percent about who you are. First Thessalonians 4:1-3 challenges, “You ought to walk and to please God . . . . For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” Sanctification is on the bull’s-eye of God’s will for your life.
Sanctification describes the process by which God takes sinful people and makes them holy. Holy is a great word. It means “set apart” or “distinct”-different from the world around us. God’s will for you is the process of taking what you used to look like (the world), and changing you to look more like Him. It means growing to be more like Christ. This is the will of God: To change us day by day to act and think more like Jesus.
Given this definition, you can have great hope when you think of “being in God’s will.” He’s using every experience, every struggle, every opportunity to sanctify you. Next time you wonder what God could be up to just say to yourself, “He’s changing me,” and you’ll be right. Next time disappointments or heartaches come (maybe you’re in the midst of them right now), try to imagine God Himself holding the hammer and chisel sculpting your likeness into Christ’s.
But why? Why is He so stuck on this matter of changing us? Because God’s will doesn’t have anything to do with whether you take that job in Peoria. God’s will for you is about how best to fulfill His purposes in our generation. To do that, God wants to demonstrate His power and splendor through your life. He wants to get you to the place where no matter what happens to you or what you go through, you trust Him and walk to please Him, and are committed wholly to what He’s doing in you and in the world. When you invite Him do His work in you, and watch Him display His awesomeness through you, you are living right in the center of His will for you.
