When You FEEL Out of God’s Will But KNOW You’re Not

Being out of the will of God is sinful and grievous, but the possibility of not knowing that you are out of God’s will is down right scary.  I mean think about it - the possibility of living everyday as normal yet not recognizing that that you are out of the will of God!  Being out of the will of God is rebellion at it’s most serious.

For those that might say that it’s impossible to be out of God’s will and not know it, let me say one name - Samson.  God declares in Judges 16:20 that Samson “wist not that the Lord was departed from him.”  The word “wist” simply means he did not comprehend his condition or in other words he was out of God’s will but did not grasp his condition.  It is true that Samson had been out of God’s perfect will for some time, but he still did not see his condition per God’s usage of the phrase “wist not.”  So clearly there are those who are out of the will of God and don’t know it…and that’s very unsettling if you a person that wants to be in the center of God’s will.

So then there is the other half of this discussion - FEELING that you are somehow out of the will of God but not sure where.  Then there are those who actually truly are convinced that they are in the center of God’s will but still FEELING out of it somehow.

It is true that we will never reach perfection in these carnal fleshly bodies that crave sin, though that is not an excuse to sin, we still should desire to live godly lives.  Because according to God’s Word every true believer’s will desire within their changed soul to live within the will of God by seeking to live a holy life (1 John 2:29).   So we should always be seeking to purge ourselves of sin and strive to be in the center of God’s perfect will (Hebrews 12:1) and thus being in the center of God’s will is important to the dedicated child of God.

But is it possible to be in the center of God’s will and still FEEL as if you are out of that perfect will?  I believe the answer to that is - YES!

As an example, can a pastor or missionary wake up FEELING they are out the will of God because they are discouraged by where they are currently serving, yet be spiritually convinced they are where God wants them?  Again I submit that YES! 

So how do we deal with this issue?  Here a few biblical truths to consider:

1. Our flesh, and the emotions that go along with it, will always lie to us (Romans 7:18).  This is why we are commanded in 2 Corinthians 5:6 to live by faith (belief in God’s truths) and not by sight (belief in our experiences).  Notice I have emphasized throughout this post the word “FEEL?”  This is because that is usually where the confusion about being out God’s will is in a saint of God - their feelings.  Don’t trust them!
2. God will never allow a surrendered servant to continually be out of His perfect will (Romans 12:1-2).  It is against all spiritual truths for God in His holiness to allow a person to live in sin if they desire to live holy.  Thus if you are truly desirous to live for Him then He will enable you to do that (Hebrews 13:21).  Think of it this way, why would God take a willing servant and allow him to live in rebellion, when that is against His very character?  In other words, how can you desire to be in the center of God’s will yet God hide that from you?  In Samson’s case, his desire was not living in the center of God’s will but his own desires.  This can be seen in his rebuff of his parent’s admonition about marrying a Philistine instead of a Jewish woman (Judges 14:3) when he said “get her for me.”
3. If you are out of the will of God then chastening is forthcoming and that chastening is not grievous but joyous in the long term (Hebrews 12:11).  However God will always chastise you in such a way that makes it clear what you have done wrong.  Conviction is not about making us miserable, but about getting us to repent and get back into God’s will (Acts 3:19).  This must be true because to do otherwise means confusion and that is not God character (1 Corinthians 14:33).  For instance, would a parent punish their child without explaining what the child did wrong?  No!  Neither will God.  If you are out of the will of God, yet desiring to be in it, then God will, by His very nature, show you clearly where you are wrong and what needs to change so that you can be in His will.
4. Never allow the emotions of a moment to undermine the confidence of the long term decisions already made.  Recently I spoke with a young pastor of a struggling work here in NY.  Just a few months ago he KNEW it was God’s will for him to come here to NY and to pastor the struggling work he took about a year ago.  But now that his emotions are seeing some struggles he is questioning whether he is in the perfect will of God right now.  His major “feeling” was that God wanted him elsewhere based on financial issues and not on some spiritual moving or other open door of service…it was just a “feeling” he had.   NEVER Trust the emotions of a moment as greater than the clear hand of God (Jeremiah 17:9).  One song writer said it this way, “Don’t doubt in the dark, what He said in the light.  He’s still the same God of the day or the night.” 
5. God never moves His will only His servants to fulfill His will.  If you know you are where God wants you then don’t think God has changed His will (Malachi 3:6).   It is true that God may move His faithful people to another place, but only to fulfill ALL His will (Acts 13:22) not because His will has changed.
6. God is the God of certainties not doubts.  If you want to live in the center of God’s will but you are just having “doubts” then know that those “doubts” are not from God.  It is true that our circumstances of life can seal our knowledge of God’s perfect will but never will our circumstances keep us in doubt (Acts 12:1-11, culminating in verse 11 “I know for a surety).  Satan, the world, and our flesh want us to live in doubt, but not God.  If God is going to “move” you then you WILL KNOW IT!!!

Servant of God, your Heavenly Father wants you to know His will and to live within it.  If He placed you where you are then don’t let ANYTHING “move” you from His will (Acts 20:24).   He wants to use you and wants you to be in the center of His will everyday of your life.  Seek His face and He will place you and keep you in the center of His will!