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In Hope

Knowing What God’s Will Is Not

Saturday December 10, 2022

I don't always know what God's will is for me, but I always know what it's not.

Getting to know God's will is the journey of a lifetime.  For many people the difficulty of living in sobriety is not so much “quitting” an addictive habit as it is of maintaining a new way of life – living in God’s will instead of self-will.  

It is God’s will that we get to know Him and develop a meaningful relationship with Him.  Everything else comes after that.  We know that acting in ways that nurture our addiction will take us away from God rather than towards Him, so we know that this is not God’s will.

For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically but made alive spiritually.   But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! (1 Peter 3:18, Romans 5:8 GNT)

In the Bible we are continually reminded that God loves us with unfailing love and is ready to receive us, forgive us, and give us a new start when we turn to Him, open our hearts and live in His ways.  So, endlessly living in shame and guilt is clearly not the will of this loving God.



Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort me and make me glad.  (Psalm 94:19 GNT) 

Relationship with anyone is developed by spending time with them, being our authentic selves, listening, asking questions, telling stories, working together, and so on.  Living in relationship with God is about all these things too.  Neglecting to make time for conversation with God each day is clearly not God’s will for us. 

We may not know what God’s will is for our long-term career or the ultimate working out of problems we created in addiction, but we know that God’s will for us today is to live well and to trust Him with all of the unknowns. 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, I want to know Your will for my life and put that into practice.  Help me to stay away from those things I clearly know are not Your will for me and resolutely leave future unknowns with You.  Help me to get to know You more.   Amen

©2022 Partners in Hope 

Audio for Knowing What God’s Will Is Not

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