Recently, I preached on James 4:13 – 17 and the power of numbering our days and making the most of every moment. 

We all live with regrets, missed opportunities, ones we wish we could redo or go back and undo. 

We can’t. We can’t go back and change the past; we can only ensure we don’t miss what is ahead as we move forward. But how do we do that? 

Some of us get paralyzed when we think about decisions or how to figure out God’s will for our lives. I believe some basic things can help us discern God’s will for our lives, but I have learned over the years that a few questions have helped to clarify it in my life:

What does God’s word say? 

This might seem obvious since we are talking about God’s will. But, many of us ignore what God’s word has to say regarding marriage, work, finances, integrity, or other aspects of life. Then we wonder why God isn’t being clear in our lives.

I wonder if we did what God called us to do, the things He’s already told us in Scripture; I think it would be more precise what decisions we should or should not make. 

It is also easy to read something in Scripture, get the sense that the Holy Spirit is speaking to us, and then ignore that, or think about how it doesn’t apply to me or my situation. 

What does trusted community say?

These are the mature Christians in your life who are wiser than you, and care about you but aren’t impressed by you. They are willing to say the hard things to you. The ones who can look you in the eye and tell you that you are missing something, and you will listen to them. 

This could be a boss, a spouse, a friend, etc. 

If you’re married, what does your spouse say about this decision? I’ve learned over the years, God’s voice sounds a lot like Katie’s in my life. Someone once said, “If you’re married and are one flesh, God might speak to your spouse first about something.”

Often God will put people in our lives to speak to us and keep us from making poor decisions, but we can miss or discount that. 

What is easy or hard?

This question may not apply to you, but this has been helpful for me. 

I’ve learned over the years that for me, God’s will is usually straightforward, obvious, and more challenging than the other option.

Not always, but often, the easy decision isn’t the path God has called me to. 

Will this get me to where I believe God wants me to be?

I came across this question years ago in Experiencing God. Instead of making a pros & cons list, the author asked, “Will this get me to where I believe God wants me or hinder me?”

We can easily get paralyzed in decision-making because we might be sure of the first step but not what comes next. So we wait until steps 2 – 5 are clear, but we need to take action and “do the next right thing.”

This gets down to, do I trust that God will show me the next step after I take this one.

Following after God and figuring out his will for our life is about submitting ourselves to him so that we can make the most of our days.