Class 4: How Can I Know God’s Will?

October 5th, 2026
by Pastor Stu

Real Answers to Tough Questions

Class 4: How Can I Know God's Will?

Redemption Hills Church - Adult Sunday School

Pastor Stu • October 4, 2026

As a pastor, I get a lot of questions. But the one I hear more than any other is this: "How can I know the will of God for my life?"

God's will is both hidden and revealed. Moses writes in Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever." Luther and Calvin called it the Deus Absconditus and the Deus Revelatus, the hidden God and the revealed God. The hidden will of God, His decretive will, is how He sovereignly brings to pass whatever He wills. The cross happened exactly when and where God decreed. The revealed will of God, His preceptive will, is His law. "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). And that one? We resist it constantly.

God's revealed will is found in His Word. The hidden will of God is just that. Hidden! Calvin said, "Where God closes His holy mouth, I will desist from inquiry." Let me convict you a little. We have an ungodly desire to know the future. That's God's business. That's why Scripture puts fortune tellers, Ouija boards, tarot cards, and date-setting end-times forecasts off-limits. So what does God promise? Acknowledge Him in all your ways, and He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:6). "This is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord (Psalm 1:1-2). Weighing a marriage or a new job? Soberly weigh your gifts, your relationships, and everything Scripture says. But here's the good news: you can't be out of God's decretive will if you're in His preceptive will. Simply put, the decretive will of God is none of your beeswax. Maybe the better question is, "How can I know the law of God?"

God's providence means God is for us. Paul writes in Romans 8:28, "We know that for those who love God all things work together for good." Not "I hope." Not "I think." We know! That conviction is missing in many churches today. Christians in every century have known this is our Father's world. After Romans 8:29-30, Paul asks in Romans 8:31-33, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" The ancient church had a slogan for this: Deus pro nobis, God for us. And nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). Providence means "to see beforehand." Jesus tells us not to be anxious, because God will provide (Matthew 6:25-34). Abraham called the mountain "The LORD will provide" (Genesis 22:14), pointing us to the supreme Lamb sacrificed for us. God didn't create the world and step away. He sustains every heartbeat. Nothing happens by chance. And our sufferings aren't worth comparing to the glory to come (Romans 8:18).

God works His will even through our sin. This is the doctrine of concurrence. Now, careful. God is not the author of evil. But think about Joseph. Betrayed by his brothers. Sold as a slave. Falsely accused. Imprisoned for years. Then famine drives those same brothers to Egypt, terrified of revenge. What does Joseph say? "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20). The brothers are responsible. They willed evil. But above their wicked wills stood the good providence of God.

That's our comfort, friends. God stands over all things. And He is for you.

To the Glory of God, Pastor Stu. Please remember to come to next week's class if you are not volunteering.