What Is God’s Will for My Life? A Study of Ephesians 1
Many of us get stuck on the same question: What is God's will for my life? We wonder who to marry, where to move, which job to take, whether to say yes or no. We treat God's will like a sealed, private document we are not allowed to read. But what if God's general will for your life is not hidden at all? What if it is clear, written down, and available to anyone willing to open the pages of Scripture?
In this message from our Grace for You series through Ephesians, we looked at Ephesians 1:8–14 and discovered four steps for walking in God's will. This is not about predicting your specific future — it is about the general will of God that is true for every believer, everywhere. And the reason it matters is simple: deep down, all of us want to be happy, fulfilled, and at peace. That kind of life is only found when we stop chasing our own will and start walking in His.
1. Walk in Unity
Paul writes that God made known to us the mystery of His will, which He purposed in Christ — "to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment, to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ" (Ephesians 1:9–10). Part of walking in God's will is walking in unity with others.
But unity is not the same as uniformity. We often break relationships because we demand that people look, think, and act exactly like us before we will be close to them. That is a recipe for more division, not less. True unity comes not from looking the same on the surface but from sharing the same foundation: Jesus Christ. Two houses can have different doors and windows and still rest on the same foundation.
Jesus prayed for this the night before He was crucified:
"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17:22–23)
When Christians genuinely love one another across their differences, the watching world takes notice. It may be the most powerful evidence that our faith is real.
2. Walk for His Glory
Paul continues: "In him we were also chosen... in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:11–12). We were created to display God's greatness, not our own.
Some hear that and bristle — isn't it egotistical for God to want glory? But God is the ultimate embodiment of goodness and greatness. When we live to display Him, it is actually for our greatest good and the good of the world. The difference is whether you want the spotlight on you, or you want to get behind the spotlight and shine it on Him. Even a pastor can preach for his own applause. The point of life is not to get people to see how good you are — it is to help them see how good God is.
3. Walk by the Spirit
"When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13). Notice: the Spirit was promised long ago. Six hundred years before Ephesians, Ezekiel wrote:
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees." (Ezekiel 36:26–27)
When you trust Christ, He gives you a new nature — a heart of flesh in place of a heart of stone. This does not make you instantly perfect. If you find yourself struggling against sin, take heart: that struggle is a sign of new life, because a slave to sin does not fight it. The Spirit also assures us of who we are: "The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father'" (Romans 8:15). And practically, walking by the Spirit means letting Him govern your mind. "The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace" (Romans 8:6). You do not have to believe every thought or follow every feeling. As Martin Luther is often quoted, you cannot stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop it from building a nest there.
4. Walk with Confidence
The Holy Spirit "is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession — to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:14). Your future with God is not a maybe; it is a guarantee. The Spirit within you is a down payment — a foretaste of heaven now, and a promise of the full inheritance to come.
Because God keeps His promises, you can walk confidently rather than fearfully. As Paul wrote, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). God does not abandon unfinished work.
A Takeaway to Reflect On
The greatest barrier to walking in God's will is our stubborn preference for our own will. The Titanic was warned about the icebergs; the crew simply chose their own way. Choosing our will over God's always leads somewhere we did not intend. But God, in mercy, sent Jesus — the only one who walked perfectly in the Father's will — and "by his wounds we are healed" (see Isaiah 53:5). Through Him we can be forgiven and put back on the path we were made to walk.
So ask yourself honestly: Am I walking in the will of God? And if not fully, what would it look like to give my life more completely over to Him today?
If these questions are stirring something in you, we would love to walk alongside you. If you live in Livermore or anywhere across the Tri-Valley, come join us on a Sunday — there is a place for you here at Arroyo Church.