Decisions never stop. We make thousands a day. Some decisions feel simple: breakfast foods, weekend plans, or which book to read next. Other decisions feel weighty: which job to take, whom to marry, or to which school to send your kids. We usually have these weightier decisions in mind when we talk about discerning “God’s will for my life,” or His ultimate plan. Feeling unsure about that ultimate plan and fearing that we might mess things up, we become anxious about our decisions.

In this blog post, I hope to relieve some of that anxiety by providing some clarity around how we should think and talk about God’s will. Then, at the end, I hope to encourage us that God has already revealed His will to us and provided us with simple aids to help us make wise decisions toward accomplishing it. 

Two Wills

In ordinary language, we talk about God’s will, but theologians often describe God as having two wills: His hidden will and His revealed will. God’s hidden will stands for God’s sovereign decrees over world events, past, present, and future. As I noted above, when we worry about “God’s will for my life,” we likely have His hidden will in mind. But it is God’s second will, His revealed will, that should concern us most. God’s revealed will is contained in the Scriptures, and they tell us what God desires for you and for me as we go through life making decisions. 

Deuteronomy 29:29 can help us understand the difference between these two wills: "The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever, so that we may follow all the words of this law" (CSB, emphasis added). This verse demonstrates that God’s hidden will (“the hidden things”) is for God alone. It is beyond our understanding, and we can’t know it with certainty. But we can know God’s revealed will (“the revealed things”) with certainty because it is for us. It is revealed to us through God’s words (“words of this law”) in Scripture, which God gave us to follow and guide us into all godliness (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

So while our human minds were never intended to comprehend God’s hidden will, we should instead focus our energy on pursuing God’s revealed will in the Scriptures. 

God’s Revealed Will in the Scriptures

The Scriptures tell us God’s revealed will—that is, His will for our lives. So what do they say?

Over and over again, the Scriptures tell us to glorify and love the Lord. It really is as simple as that. Here are some verses to help us see it:

• Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”

• 1 Corinthians 6:20: “for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.”

• 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” 

• Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

In fact, multiple historically rooted catechisms¹ from different branches of Christianity—Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox—explain God’s will for our lives this way. 

• The Westminster Catechism, produced in 1647 and adopted by Presbyterians in 1788, offers a series of questions and answers to explain the Christian faith. Their first question and answer are as follows: “Q1: What is the chief and highest end of man? Answer: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever.”²

• The Catechism of the Catholic Church, a summary of the Catholic tradition produced by Pope John Paul II in 1992, says, “God put us in the world to know, to love, and to serve him, and so to come to paradise.”³

• A catechism celebrated within the Eastern Orthodox Church says: “Q. With what design did God create man? A. With this, that he should know God, love, and glorify Him, and so be happy forever.”⁴

Glorifying and Loving the Lord

God’s will is that we’d glorify and love Him with our whole lives. Scripture has said as much, and the broad Christian tradition declares it. But actually living it out is easier said than done. How exactly do we do this? How do we ensure we are making decisions that glorify the Lord when decisions aren’t always black and white?

Here is some guidance.

Turn to God’s Word

First, turn again and again to God’s Word. Though Scripture doesn’t speak about every decision we make in life, Scripture does speak to every decision. It is sufficient to guide us in all that we should believe and do. So the more we read Scripture, the more we will embody its truths and find ourselves applying its guidance across a variety of decisions, both big and small. 

Turn to God’s Spirit

Second, pray that the Spirit would guide you into all godliness. Christ promised the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin (John 16:8), and the Spirit empowers us to live in ways that glorify God (Galatians 5:22–23).

Turn to God’s People

Third, find wise counsel from God’s people. Find Christians you trust: your pastor, church elders, spiritual mentors, and godly friends. God uses the Christian community to encourage us and guide us and lead us on the path of righteousness (Colossians 3:16, Hebrews 13:17). 

If you are a follower of Christ, then you can also trust that your own conscience is being gradually sanctified to make wise decisions (John 16:13, Philippians 1:6). The wise Christians you know were not always as wise as they are now! Just like they developed wisdom slowly over time, you will also develop wisdom and discernment as you follow Jesus.

Confident in God

Rather than pretending we can determine God’s hidden will for our lives and the world, let us care deeply about God’s revealed will given in the Scriptures. We need not feel overwhelmed or anxious about God’s hidden will when God has graciously told us what He desires from His people: that we’d glorify Him and love Him. 

As pastor and theologian Kevin DeYoung writes, “Live for God. Obey the Scriptures. Think of others before yourself. Be holy. Love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like, with whomever you like, wherever you like, and you’ll be walking in the will of God.”

So walk confidently as you choose your job, relationships, and breakfast cereals!

Notes: 

1. A catechism is a summary of the Christian faith, often formatted as a series of questions and 

answers.

2. Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Shorter Catechism, Ligonier Ministries (Accessed February 5, 2026). https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/westminster-shorter-catechism.

3. John Paul II, Catechism of the Catholic Church (1721), 2nd ed, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (1994). https://usccb.cld.bz/Catechism-of-the-Catholic-Church/6. 

4. The Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church (The Murdock Press: 1901), 25. 

5. Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will (Moody Publishers: 2014), 120.

Additional Resources for Growing in Christlikeness:

James Bible Study		Christ in All of Scripture | 4 Volume Set | Year-Long Bible Study		Esther Bible Study
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