There’s an old joke about a man who really wanted to know God’s will. He prayed, “Lord, if it’s Your will for me to go on this trip, let there be a parking spot open right in front of the store.” And wouldn’t you know it, on his eighth time circling the lot, a spot opened up right at the front (wow!).
We often ask God for guidance while quietly hoping His answer lines up with what we already want. We search for signs, overanalyze circumstances, and sometimes end up more confused than ever. But what if knowing God’s will isn’t about decoding signs at all? What if walking in God’s will is actually about walking closely with the Father like Jesus did?
That’s what we see in John 5:19–24: life in the Father’s will, according to Jesus.
Jesus Shows Us How to Walk in the Father’s Will
Jesus didn’t make decisions based on pressure, opportunity, or circumstances. He made them based on His relationship with the Father.
“The Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing.” —John 5:19
Think of a child walking through a noisy, crowded street with their parent. The child notices the chaos, but they move forward by watching mom or dad: matching their pace, following their turns, trusting their steps more than their own (but as any parent knows, kids can also wander off!).
But in perfect step with the Father is how Jesus walked through the world. He is focused, aligned, attentive to His Father, and this is the life we’re invited into as well.
The Will of God Makes Sense Only in Light of the Sovereignty and Love of God
Many of us live with a quiet frustration: “I want to do God’s will… but I don’t know if I am.”
But Scripture shows us the way of freedom: God’s will isn’t a fragile maze we can get easily lost in because God is sovereign. He’s always working, always guiding His purposes to their end, including your life and my life. His will is not something you chase but something you enter through trust, surrender, and intimacy with the Father.
John 5:20 says,
“For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing.”
Everything Jesus did flowed from the Father’s love. And if you’re in Christ, that same love rests on you. Just as the Father revealed His work to the Son, the Spirit now reveals God’s work to us (John 16:13–14).
Before you can walk freely in God’s will, you must be convinced of God’s sovereignty and His love for you.
The measure which we believe these things to be true of God will determine our ability to walk through life with confidence in His direction.
What Is the Father Doing? He’s Giving Life to the Dead
John 5:21 goes on to describe the work that the Father shows the Son,
“For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life…”
This is the Fathers “trade,” so to speak: bringing the dead to life. And it is the trade which the Son walks faithfully in, imitating the work of the Father. And through Christ, this is the work He invites us into as well, not that we all possess the ability of raising the dead physically, but by carrying the message of eternal life through Christ to a dying world. That big-picture calling shapes everything else Scripture tells us about God’s will.
Three Clear Places God Tells Us His Will
1. God’s Will Is Your Sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:2–8)
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor...
Sanctification means being made holy, set apart, becoming like Christ in the deepest parts of your life. It’s resurrection life at work in your desires, habits, and thoughts and God turning places of death in our lives into places of life. So, when we turn away from impurity, from lust, from self-centeredness, we’re not just becoming “better people” we are participating by the Spirit in the resurrection life of Jesus.
Sexual purity is one example Paul highlights, not because God is concerned with behavior management, but because He is claiming your whole life for His glory.
2. God’s Will Is Joy, Prayer, and Gratitude (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18)
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Where the previous passage focused on the will of God for you in sanctification, this passage points us to the will of God relationally; that our life would be one of genuine joy, communion, and gratitude as the deep fruit of knowing Jesus. To rejoice always means to recognize that even in sorrow, suffering, or confusion, the tomb is still empty, that Jesus is still alive, and that we belong to Him. The joy of the Lord is not a denial of hardship but a life rooted in resurrection hope in the midst of it.
3. God’s Will Is That You Do Good (1 Peter 2:13–17)
For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
This may not be the kind of “will of God” passage we expect. We often think of God's will as something deeply personal, something about our purpose, our calling, or our spiritual life. But here we’re reminded that God’s will also touches how we live as citizens, as neighbors, and as representatives of Jesus in the public square.
Peter is not saying that human institutions are always right or just but that how we respond to those in authority says something about the One we ultimately serve. The world is watching; we may be slandered and misunderstood. But when your life is marked by quiet faithfulness, humility, honor, and good works, particularly in the midst of hardship, it becomes hard to deny that something supernaturally lifegiving is at work in you.
God’s Will Begins With Eternal Life
John 5 ends with this promise:
“Whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life. He… has passed from death to life.” —John 5:24
This is where it all begins. It doesn’t begin with trying your hardest to be a better person. It doesn’t begin with cleaning yourself up or getting your life in order. It begins with hearing the voice of Jesus’ invitation and believing the One who sent Him. That’s the invitation of the gospel. You don’t climb your way into relationship with the Father; the Father has already made a way through the Son.
We were made not just to know about God's will, but to walk in it daily, and that starts by surrendering to Jesus. That looks like repentance, turning away from self-reliance, from sin, from the idea that you can figure life out on your own. And it looks like faith, placing the full weight of your hope for this life and the life to come on Jesus: who He is, what He’s done, and what He promises. And it looks like surrender, laying your life in His hands and saying, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
When you do that, when you believe in Him, you are brought into life. The Spirit of God comes to dwell in you. You are no longer under judgment, but you are in the will of God. Not because you’re perfect, but because Jesus is.
But Are You Walking in the Life You Have?
If you’re already in Christ, the question is: Are you walking in the awareness of the Father’s presence? Are you responding to Him instead of reacting to the chaos around you? Are you letting the Spirit sanctify you? Are joy, prayer, and gratitude shaping your days? Are you doing good in a way that points others to Jesus?
The will of God for your life doesn’t stop at salvation, it starts there. It’s not just that you’ve passed from death to life, it’s that now, you’re called to walk in that new life, day by day, empowered by the Spirit, and led by the love of the Father. So maybe today, the invitation for you is not to come to Jesus for the first time but to come back to Him in fresh surrender. To lay down the places where you’ve been walking in your own wisdom, relying on your own strength, or resisting His leading. In that surrender, there is freedom.
A Simple Posture
Jesus said:
“The Son can do nothing by Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing.”
What if that became our prayer for the rest of our days,
“Father, I only want to do what I see You doing. Pour out your Spirit, show me where You’re at work, and empower me to walk with You. With Jesus, who gave me life, help me live it in step with You.”
Take the next step, not to earn His love, because you already have it. Not to impress Him because He’s already with you in Christ. Not to figure everything out, but to walk in step with the One who already knows the way, more than that, who is the Way. With this promise…
“The world is passing away… but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
—1 John 2:17Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-wooden-signage-hanging-beside-wall-434446/