There are two schools of understanding in the evangelical community when it comes to God's will. The blueprint and the way of Wisdom. The blueprint idea is that God has one will for your life. It's up to you to find it and keep yourself within it. If you stray from this will, you messed up big time. You must repent and get back on track. You discover this Will through signs. Open doors, counsel, verses from the Bible, feelings, coincidences, etc. Its up to you to look at everything and figure out which is of God. You know you're right when you have peace. Now it sounds good to start but there is one problem. The will of God becomes more mystical than practical. A 'spiritual' person just knows what's right. If one isn't careful, it devolves into a spiritual form of divination. In fact that is the biggest problem. Its up to YOU to figure out God's will. It often becomes a burden, and we wear ourselves out looking for that perfect sign. God becomes more of a dictator. The primary requirement is just to find out what He wants.

The wisdom school isn't much better. What they propose is that God gave us a brain. Thus, by reading scripture and using our heads, each of us can make good choices. When there are two good choices then its up to you to choose which you like better. Therein lies the problem. In the way of wisdom, God is removed from all that happens. It's all up to you. This is basically a form of Deism. A system where, once God starts it, He is no longer needed. God is then free to leave and attend to other business. Need I point out the obvious weakness of this view. God does not need to be consulted, he will go along with whatever I choose to do. My will is OK with Him. He really doesn't care.

While the extremes seem harmful in themselves they both have a side of God's will. Discernment brings both views together in balance. The focus in discernment is relationship. God doesn't so much want you to do what he wants as much as he wants you to know Him and be like Him. God doesn't want you making decisions on your own, He wants to be there with you. He wants to work through the decision with you, and in so doing, teach you more about Himself. Again, discernment is designed to know God in a deeper way. Always keep that in mind.

Having said that let's look at some principle you will need to understand in your quest for discernment. First, always make an informed decision. 1John 4:1, pr 17:24, 10:13, 15:14, 16:21, 17:24, 19:25, 28:7, 17:10, 28:11. Notice that discernment and wisdom always walk hand in hand. Do you want to know God's will...then study His word. Learn what is right. God will sometimes lead you in a way that is unwise. That's God. But he will do it, hopefully, with you knowing full well it is foolish. Study all the possibilities of a decision. The pros and cons. Weigh it out. Decide what the best decision is and then lay it before the Lord. Often times His will and the smartest choice will be the same. (BUT NOT ALWAYS) Hence the need for prayer. If His will was always the wisest choice, again, we wouldn't need Him. Sometimes He chooses the foolish things of the World to confound the wise.

Second, understand that bad decisions aid discernment. We need to be a people that warn, but also let people make bad choices and love them for it. What? 1Thes 4:11. Make your own decisions and stop controlling others. Here is a tough lesson, but one that we have all learned. Parents need to come to the place in their relationships with their children when they stop telling them what to do and let them make their own choices ( complete with consequences). The Church needs to do the same. We need to allow our brothers and sisters to make their own choices. Not control them. If you have a child and you always tell them what to do, what happens? That child will never develop good decision making skills. The same with God. Developing our relationship with God almost requires that we make bad choices, in order to grow and learn how to make better choices.

The last thing I would like to say about discernment is that it reflects an attitude our heart should have: OPENNESS. In order to be able to hear God's voice we need to be open. We need to be open for what He has for us. Open to doing things His way. Are you open to building a deep relationship with Him? Are you open to trusting Him. Are you Open to what God would have you do? Are you open to putting Him first in your life, trusting His goodness and mercy and love? Are you open to living in the present and letting go of the past? Are you open to what God thinks of you? Are you open to the Bible and the commands of God? Are you open to living life Jesus' way? Is your heart open? Can you let go of the past, your failures, regrets, mistakes, foul-ups and look to a future that is bright.

Sad as it sounds, most of us would rather live with our selfishness and self-deception, trusting in our own power to bring us what we think will make us whole. Most of us aren't open to God. Most of us are scared of the peace and life that God offers. It sounds too perfect. We have lived such scared , hopeless lives that we fear true freedom. It kind of like a prisoner who gets out of jail. He's out from under his punishment but never feels at home in the world. All he has ever known is the life of a prisoner. The outside world scares him. He'd rather settle for a 6x8foot cell. Are you open to experiencing life in its fullness? I have come that you may find life, life in its fullness. Don't be a prisoner all your life!