When we hear the phrase “God’s will,” we often think about it like a mystery. We want to know God’s plan for our lives—things like where He wants us to live, what career He wants us to pursue, who we should marry, or when we should start a family. Those are important questions, but sometimes we get so lost in long-term plans that we forget God’s will is lived out daily.  He wants us to pause to surrender our plans, expectations, timelines, and desires. He wants us to surrender the picture we’ve already painted for how today will go, or how our life will go, and acknowledge that He may have a better plan. When we pray, “Your will be done,” Jesus is teaching us to say, “God, I want what You want.”

If you’re praying in the morning, sitting in a quiet house with your coffee before anyone has needed anything from you, this might sound easy. But it doesn’t feel as easy when you’re fighting with your child who doesn’t want to get out of bed, someone cuts you off in traffic, a coworker calls in sick, the diagnosis isn’t what you hoped for, or the meeting doesn’t go well. Before long, surviving the day feels more important than surrendering it, and that’s when our will begins to surface. 

We like comfort and control, so we like when life stays on schedule. When it doesn’t, frustration, anger, fear, and anxiety often take over. Like a drowning person who fights the lifeguard trying to rescue them, we resist the very One who is trying to save us. We cling to control because we think we know what’s best, when in reality, our Father sees what we cannot. The prophet Isaiah reminds us: “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” 

Build An Altar

If you’re familiar with the Old Testament story of Abraham, you know that God promised to build his family into a great nation—a dream that took much longer and looked very different than Abraham assumed it would. Twenty-five years later, Abraham’s promised son, Isaac, was born, but then God did something unexpected: He asked Abraham to sacrifice him on Mount Moriah. Why would God do that? Why would He ask Abraham to lay down the very thing He had promised? Because God wanted to see what Abraham loved more—His son or his God. Abraham obeyed, laying Isaac on the altar, but God interrupted and said, “Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Throughout your life, you’ll have to make the same decision to lay down the things you want most. It’s scary, and in the moment, you may not be entirely sure it’s worth it. You may wonder if God can be trusted. But surrender is the only way you will know for sure that He can be. 

You can always tell when you meet someone who has truly surrendered their life to God. They seem more carefree, because they’ve stopped imposing their own will on their life. There’s nothing wrong with having dreams, but Jesus said, “…unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” I think He was saying that to have the best life you can, you have to give up the one you’re trying to manufacture.

You Won’t Miss It

Maybe you’re currently facing a major decision, like whether you should take a new job, move to another city, start a business, or end your relationship. These situations can be paralyzing—you desperately want to do God’s will, but it feels like you could ruin your future if you make the wrong choice.

After years of following Jesus and walking with people through life’s biggest decisions, I’ve come to believe that if your heart is genuinely surrendered to God, you don’t have to be afraid of accidentally missing His will. God is a loving Father. He’s not hiding His will, imploring you to guess where it is, or waiting for you to make a mistake so He can say, “Sorry, you missed it.” He delights in leading His children. That’s why Scripture says, “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way.” That doesn’t mean our choices don’t matter—we’re certainly capable of making foolish decisions, avoiding wise counsel, wandering into sin, and ignoring the leading of God’s Spirit. But that’s exactly why we begin each morning praying, “Your will be done.” Every day is another opportunity to realign our hearts and surrender our ambitions, fears, and timelines, because we don’t want our selfish desires influencing us to make decisions that don’t align with God.

The wonderful news is that God doesn’t guide us from a distance. He is with you right now, and He will be with you throughout your day. When you read the Bible, His word is a lamp for your feet. When you pray, the Spirit is interceding on your behalf, helping you pray beyond your understanding. When you faithfully obey what you know God wants you to do, you’re building your life on a solid foundation that will withstand any storm. God’s will isn’t a scavenger hunt; it’s a long walk with a faithful friend, or as Pastor Eugene Peterson put it, “a long obedience in the same direction.”

Sometimes we spend so much time asking God to show us His plan that we forget His greatest promise is His presence. Think about the famous 23rd Psalm. David says that when he walks through the valley of the shadow of death, “You are with me.” When we pray “Your will be done,” we’re reminding ourselves of two things—first, that God cares enough about us to have a plan specifically for us, and second, that we’re not walking into the unknown alone. God is with you no matter where you go. What if today, instead of worrying about the next five years, you tried to be aware of God’s presence in the next 5 minutes? Try to notice what He’s saying and where He’s leading.

Practice:

Think about a specific situation today when you’ll need to pause and say, “God, Your will be done.”

Prayer:

Father, I surrender today to You. I lay down my plans, my worries, and the pressure to figure everything out. I don’t want to rush ahead or fall behind—I want to walk in step with You. Let Your presence go before me and stay with me. Today, I choose to follow You. Your will be done. Amen.