Imagine going to class on your first day of school and not being told how you were going to be graded. You go back the next day and your teacher doesn’t give you syllabus for the whole school year. Not knowing what they expect of you would be very frustrating.

Now, imagine that scenario between a parent and a child. Imagine a child seeking connection and fulfillment and always having to guess what would keep dad or mom pleased and happy. This is a discouraging image, but it’s reality for many families.

Some people think that the will of God is like this; that we need to guess what pleases God or that the Lord does not want to disclose to us what we ought to do to live in His will. What seems so complicated to so many is very simple to the Lord. God does not want us to live in a guessing game.

Here’s a quick overview of some verses that distinctly help us know what God’s will is:

The Kingdom – Luke 12:32

Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit – Romans 14:17

Spiritual power – 1 Corinthians 4:20

Transformation of the mind and not conforming to worldliness – Romans 12:1-2

Wholeness – Colossians 4:12

Pursuit of purity and holiness – 1 Thessalonians 4:3

List of actions – 1 Thessalonians 5:11-23

Growing in patience – Hebrews 10:36, 1 Peter 3:17

Integrity – 1 Peter 2:15

Not pleasing people over pleasing God – 1 Peter 4:2

If we learned God’s will for our lives, then we would avoid a lot of unnecessary hurt and pain. One verse that gives us insight on knowing God’s will is Ephesians 5:17.

Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (NKJV)

In other words, God’s wisdom leads to understanding His will. So, what is God’s wisdom? We hear about it so much, but do we realize that God wants to share His wisdom with us? If we thought about it long enough, we would notice that there are hundreds of verses that demonstrate God’s wisdom.

But one specific passage describes God’s wisdom:

James 3:17 (NKJV) states, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy”.

Doesn’t that sound a lot like the verses regarding God’s will? If you look at James 3:15, just two verses earlier, you’ll notice that James describes what demonic wisdom is: earthly, sensual, and demonic. Other translations use words like worldly, unspiritual, manipulative. Demonic wisdom focuses on temporary pleasures, while God’s wisdom focuses on eternal pleasures. One question we can ask ourselves is, “Will this decision affect my relationship with God, in the long-term?” As stated earlier, if God’s wisdom leads to God’s will, then demonic wisdom leads to the devil’s will. I’m pretty sure none of us want the devil’s will. Yet, there is another type of wisdom that can lead us astray from God’s will—that is human wisdom.

Human wisdom focuses on human ability and reputation (1 Corinthians 1-2). Unlike demonic wisdom, human wisdom resists God’s power. Demonic wisdom cannot resist or ignore God’s power, because demons and devils oftentimes know God’s power better than humans do. They were kicked out of heaven by God and they saw God create the universe. Because of our flesh, we can rely on human wisdom, ability, and reputation, and miss out on God’s wisdom and will for our lives.

It appears then, that there are two wisdoms against one. Human and demonic wisdom versus God’s wisdom. But the truth is, God’s wisdom alone overcomes human wisdom and demonic wisdom. We don’t have to be afraid of displeasing our heavenly Father with our decisions if we’ve incorporated His wisdom into our lives. God’s wisdom can help us to know who to date. It can help us to know who to marry. It can help us know how to pick a job. It can help us know what to do after middle school and high school. It can help us know how to deal with our friendships. It can help us grow in ministry. It will release an abundantly blessed life.

Let us remember, humans may leave us in the dark about what pleases them, but it’s not a mystery what pleases God. Our heavenly Father is calling each of us into the light where all things can be clearly seen.

Hector Robles is your friendly neighborhood South Florida native. On a weekly basis, he writes for HectorMRobles.com and is the host for Sparrow.podcast, a podcast that discusses subjects related to faith, the Scriptures, and ministry. He’s glad to inform you that you likely don’t know of anyone else that writes their “5’s” from the bottom.

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