One Question | How do I know God’s will?

ONE QUESTION: How Do I Know God's Will?

Avalon Church - August 30, 2026 - Pastor Don Dodge

So how do you know God's will when he seems so quiet?

I want to start, of course, with a story, because that's what I do. And I love telling you stories about my family - especially when I haven't asked them for permission. I'm just kidding, I would never do that. Well, I would never do that on purpose. And then sometimes I get home and my wife's like - or my kids are like - "What?" And I didn't know. But not today.

So years ago, RaeLynn and I were in a major transition in our life. We believed that God was leading me to further my education, and we had narrowed it down to two PhD programs.

One of those programs allowed us to stay in Lakeland. RaeLynn could keep her job, my kids could stay in their school, we'd stay connected and close to friends and family and our new granddaughter. I could do my research at home, and I'd only have to travel up to Virginia about one or two weeks out of every semester for the intensive classes. That was the good part. The flip side was that academically it was a newer program, so its reputation was very limited - and it wasn't cheap at all.

But then there was this other program. The school was established. It was respected, had a great reputation, and they were offering a substantial scholarship to go there. But we would be moving without a job, and finances were already really tight. Our kids would have to change schools. We'd be uprooted. We'd be leaving everything, including that granddaughter.

So we were at a crossroads, because we had highs here and lows here, and highs here and lows here, and we didn't know what to do. We prayed and prayed and prayed. We made lists of pros and cons trying to figure it out. We talked with wise people who knew us well. And at the end of it all, we didn't have clarity. We were like 45/55 - really close. And it was tough. We had these options, but we had to make a choice.

And so we chose to stay. We chose to be near family. We chose for RaeLynn to keep her job. We did the best that we could with the information that we had. And that decision led us down a very different road than the other decision would have.

I'll talk more about what happened in a bit, but I want to bring it to you for a minute, because we've all had moments like this, right? Where you come to a crossroads and you genuinely want to know: God, what do you want me to do? What is the right next step in this path?

Maybe you're graduating and trying to decide where to go next. Which school? What career do you choose? Maybe you've been offered a new job and it pays more, but it also means moving your family, or a lot more travel - and the choice for you isn't clear. And so you're like, "God, what do you want me to do?" Or maybe your kids are grown and you're thinking about retirement. Is it time now? Do we stay in Orlando? Do we move? What does God want? "Lord, we're praying. Whatever you say, we'll do. We're ready to do it. Just let us know."

And then often there's no clear voice. No unmistakable sign. Sometimes you might have that, but often there is no email where God is just telling you what you need to do next.

And sometimes you can get frustrated. Sometimes you can be anxious about it, because - let's be real - a lot of us grew up with this thought that God has a very specific plan for our lives, and our job is to follow that plan: to make the right choice about our career, and whether we should have another child, and who we should marry, and all of these kinds of things. We have to figure out the right choice, because if we miss it, we miss God's will.

And so now the pressure's on, right? And you feel the anxiety, because what if you choose the wrong one? What if you choose poorly? Or what if something happens to you or me where you can no longer do the thing that God wanted you to do? Like, you made the decision - yes, we're going to have another child - but then you can't get pregnant. Are you missing God's will? Or what if you can no longer do the job that you thought God was leading you to your whole life, but something has happened and you're just not physically capable of doing it anymore, or you've lost the job?

What if I miss out on God's will for my life?

I think that's where the anxiety comes from, because we feel responsible for discovering something that God hasn't necessarily made clear. And somehow we're supposed to figure out where to find it. Where do you find God's will?

And I wonder sometimes if, when we say we're looking for God's will, what we're really looking for is certainty. Let me say that again. Sometimes I think when we're pursuing God and we're trying to discern his will, what we're really looking for is certainty.

And this isn't in my notes, but I've said it like three times a day and I'm going to say it to you again, because it just has been speaking to my soul: certainty is a wonderful thing. I love it. But this is what I know - when you know something, when you know it's true, it no longer requires faith.

Faith is trusting God even when you don't have all the answers. Like for Abraham. God said, "Go." And he said, "Where?" And God said, "That way." And Abraham said, "Okay." And he went. And he had never been there before, and he didn't know what was going to happen on the journey. But he just trusted God, and he went. That's faith. When you get the GPS directions, that's certainty - but that's not trust.

Let me back up. What we want is certainty. And I think it's because deep down, a lot of us believe that if we just do God's will, if we just stay in the plan, things are all going to work out and we're going to finally be happy and we're going to avoid all the pain and everything's going to be beautiful.

But I think Scripture can reshape how we think about God's will. Actually, I think Scripture does reshape how we think about God's will - because what it does is lead us to ask different questions than "God, who am I supposed to marry?" or "What am I supposed to do?"

So let's take a look. We're going to look at a couple of different verses today about what the Bible says about God's will. If you have the notes, you might want to write some of these Scriptures down, or take a picture of the screen, because all the Scriptures will be up there.

Let's look first at First Thessalonians. All of these are very explicit. You want certainty? This is God's will. God's will is for you to be - what's that word? Holy.

Now, I think a lot of us, when we hear this word, think sinless. That's what holy means: somebody who has it all together, somebody who has no vices anymore. They are sinless. They don't do wrong anymore. Raise your hand if that's you. Yeah, exactly. Me neither. Let me put my hand down.

That's not what holy means. Holiness means being set apart for a purpose. The Jewish people, the Hebrews - they were set apart. They were made holy so that the whole world would be blessed through them. We are set apart. We live as God's people, reflecting who he is. We are his image bearers. When we reflect who Jesus is, when we reflect the kingdom of God, we are living out our holiness. Holy - we are set apart for a purpose.

And how do we do that? How do we live holy lives? Paul continues - and in this situation it's very specific to the Thessalonian church - he says, "Stay away from all sexual sin." That's one. That's one part of reflecting. But he's not done, because he says, "Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor."

Look at the next verse: "Don't be controlled by sexual urges like the people who don't know God are." See, being controlled by anything - this is not how God designed people to live. No, God's will is freedom. And as so many in AA would tell us, freedom is not being able to do whatever you want. Freedom is not being ruled by your desires. That's holiness. That's living out the ways of God.

And for the Thessalonians, sexuality was such a big issue in their church. Thank goodness we don't have that problem today. No - I mean, it's very relevant today, right? But this is God's will: not to be ruled by your passions and your desires, but to have freedom to live and to do what you know is best for you and for others.

But Paul's not done, because the next verse says, "No one should mistreat or take advantage of their brother or sister sexually." In other words, don't use people. Don't treat somebody else as the object of your desire - whether it be sex, whether it be money, whether it be using people, manipulating people, whatever it is. They are people. They are your brothers and sisters. And you are not living holiness, you are not living out your calling, if that is what you are doing. So treat everybody with dignity and respect, because God's will is for us to reflect what he is like, and that's what he is like. Holiness is living out God's tangible presence in the world.

And Paul explains this more later, in the next chapter of the same letter. He says, "Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It's not just about not being controlled by your desires, but it's also this posture of rejoicing and praying and giving thanks in all circumstances.

I want you to notice something here, and this is really important. When we say, "How do you know God's will?" - you can know God's will. You can know what he wants. You don't have to live in fear. This isn't some parent that you always have to walk on eggshells with, trying to figure out what they want. That's not God. God is being very clear. You don't have to try to figure out the hidden path to his will - you know, the one that God hasn't revealed to you yet. You don't have to. If you want to know God's will, this is it, right here.

Go to the next slide: be his, and become more like him. Number one - if you want to know God's will, first be his and become more and more like him. That is God's will.

Let's look at a few other Scriptures. First Peter says, "For it is God's will to do good, even when other people do bad to you." That kind of feels like Jesus, right? Hanging on a cross: "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing." That's what Peter is saying.

And then John, in chapter 6, tells us that God's will is found in Jesus: "For my Father's will is that everybody who looks to the Son and believes in him..." Again - believing is not mental assent. That's something we think, and that is not what a Jewish person in the first century would ever think. Believing is way more than mental. It is about your life. Following him. You tell me you believe that the chair will hold you. Well, a Jewish person says, "That doesn't mean anything to me. Sit in the chair. That's how we know that you believe it." So you look to the Son. You follow the Son. That is God's will.

This is what God is doing. He is forming a people who are becoming like Jesus and who are inviting other people into life, inviting other people to find life in Jesus alongside them. This is God's will. This has always been God's will.

In fact, hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the prophet Micah put it like this - one of my favorite verses in Scripture: "O people." People! God is forming a people. "The Lord has told you" - he's told you what he wants, he's told you what is right and good - "this is what the Lord requires of you: do what is right, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."

You want to know God's will? Do right. Be merciful. And walk humbly with your God.

So think about this, because we're reframing something right here. When Scripture tells us what God's will is, it is rarely things like "Which job should I take?" or "Which church should I join?" I'm not saying he doesn't do that sometimes, because there have been moments of clarity in my life where I knew that I knew that I knew I needed to take a certain step. I'm just saying, for me, those have been very rare. Most of the time it is not about that at all.

So instead of saying "do this or do that, go left or right," the Lord often says: be holy. Reflect my image. Pray. Give thanks. Do good. Love mercy. Walk humbly. Love God and love people.

It seems to me that God is much more about forming us into a certain kind of person than he is about giving us the GPS directions that guide our every step of life.

And I think Romans 12 puts it all together, when Paul says this: "I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God."

What does that mean? Be formed. Allow yourself to be transformed. How does that happen? Be his. It is his Spirit in you that will transform you. You don't have the power. You can read all the good books. You can go to all the great therapy. You can have wonderful lunches with really great mentors and they can pour into you. But transformation from the inside out happens through God and what he does in us. This is what it means to follow Jesus - being formed, being his. "This is your true and proper worship."

But what does that even look like? How do you do that? That's what the next verse says. Paul continues: "Do not conform to the pattern of this world." It's so easy - do what everybody else does, think the way everybody else does. But don't. That's not how you get this life. That's not how you discern God's will. "But be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

And I want you to notice the order here, because again, the Scriptures are flipping things on their head. They're telling us things that are the exact upside-down way that we normally think. Because Paul doesn't say, "Discover God's will, then you will know how to live." That's what we want to do. "God, I'm at a crossroads. You tell me what to do, and I will go live that way."

But that's the opposite of what Scripture often says. What Scripture says is: offer yourself to God. Be formed. Be transformed. And then let God bring new life to how you think. Be his, and allow him to change the way you think. That's God's will. And when you do this, you are better able to discern your best next steps.

Now, I have shared this illustration with you before, but I love it and I get to share it with you again. I've shared it many times, because a professor in college - when I was 20 years old, asking whether I should get married or not - shared this illustration with me. He said, "God's will is a lot like basketball."

So, can you bring up the basketball goal? Maybe it's not up there yet.

All right. So in basketball, what is the goal? To make baskets, right? To win - to get more points than the other team. And how do you get points? You make baskets. This is not hard, right? It's pretty simple. And there are lots of places on the court where you can make baskets.

Let me ask you something. Can you make a basket - whoa, that's not supposed to happen. Hold on, let's try that again. Is anything happening? No. We're going to keep going. We did work on this, I promise. There it is.

Okay - can you make a basket from right there? It's actually a really good place to make a basket. Nice. Nice free throw. You got it, no problem at all.

Can you make a basket from right here? Some people are masters at the three-point shot. They can hit it every time. When I was watching basketball as a kid - which did not happen much - I can even tell you who was popular back then: Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. When I was watching, three-pointers weren't normal. They were special. Now it seems like everybody knows how to throw a three-point shot. And so you can shoot from there.

Is this possible? How about this one - that's the one I meant. Half court. Can you make a shot from half court? It's not the wisest shot, but it's possible, right? You can do it.

For me, if I'm going to make a shot, I'm standing right there. That's about the shot I can make. That's just the way it is for me.

See, sometimes on the court, some shots are better than others. Some are wiser than others. There are times when a half-court or even a full-court shot is necessary. You've got a half second left on the clock and you're two points down - you throw it. And we've seen those. That's the best movies right there. So there are times when that's the wisest shot possible. But most of the time, if that's what a team does, they're going to lose badly, because it's not the wisest shot.

But there are lots of shots you're allowed to take - an infinite number of shots you're allowed to take. Just some are better than others. Does that make sense? Do you agree with that? Some shots are better than others.

Now, where is the one place on the court where, if you make the basket, it doesn't count? Yeah, exactly - over here on the sideline. If you're over here on the sideline, if you're out of bounds, that shot doesn't count. It just doesn't count.

See, I think God's will works something like this. There are boundaries. There are things that are clearly out of bounds. Selfishness. Pride. Using people. Out of bounds. So is lying. So is being controlled by our desires. If a decision requires me to act different than Jesus, or to stop loving people, it's sin - and I am out of bounds. And I know that I know that I know I am out of God's will. I just know it.

But most of us get that. That's not really revolutionary to any of us. I think what is revolutionary is the next point, the one that we often miss: the whole rest of the court is in bounds.

There isn't some tiny X on the floor that I'm supposed to try to find, where my whole life is spent trying to find the one thing that God wants me to do. But I think that's how we often think about it. And again, what happens if you know that thing - that God has made you to be a worship pastor, and that is what you do, this is God's will for my life - and then you get into a car accident and you can't sing anymore? Have you missed God's will for the rest of your life because of a drunk driver? Or if you break your fingers and you can't play guitar anymore, have you missed God's will now? I hope not. I hope it's not that fragile.

So there isn't some tiny X on the floor that God expects us to somehow discover. There might be several faithful choices that you could make.

Now, I think we would all agree some choices are wiser than others. This - goodness gracious, it keeps moving - that is probably not going to be the best, wisest option very many times. Some choices are wiser than others.

And this is where Romans 12 speaks in. Because as we give our lives to Jesus, and as we're transformed, as God renews the way we think, we learn to recognize the better shots. You know - the free throw, the layup. We start to see what the wiser shot is, because we're becoming wiser.

And as we become wiser, we begin to notice some things inside of us that we might not have noticed before. Like: what's really motivating me? Am I being motivated by the way my parents raised me and I don't want to let them down? Am I being motivated by money, or a desire for security?

See, I don't think God's will is about making the one right decision. I think it's about becoming the kind of person that God is forming you to be, and learning how to play the game of life with wisdom.

So before the crossroads - the inevitable question. Would you go to the next slide? "What should I do?" might not be the first question. Maybe it's: Who am I becoming? Am I becoming more like Jesus? Am I becoming somebody who recognizes what is wise and faithful and loving - so that when I face the crossroads and I ask "What should I do next?", I can ask some better questions that help me see clearly.

Look at some of these questions. You might want to write these down. Just a couple of questions, so that when you have to discern left or right - not to find the one thing, but maybe you ask questions like:

Is this outside the way of Jesus? Does this contradict the way Jesus is revealed in Scripture? If what my decision wants to do contradicts that, I know it's out of bounds. If I have to lie to get it, if I have to use somebody to get it, if I have to hurt somebody to get what I want, I know it's out of bounds. I don't even need to question it.

Then another question might be this: What does love require? Man, this is such a good question. We are called to love our family, our church, our neighbor, even our enemy. And so if that is what Jesus has told us - he said, "This is the commandment. This is my final commandment. This is the greatest commandment I give you." It's no longer "love God and love people." It is: love each other. Love one another. Love others the way I loved you. And then he died on the cross for them. It's not the golden rule. It's the platinum rule. Love like Jesus loved. And so in any situation, when you have to go left or you have to go right, when you have choices - what does love require in this situation? That could answer your question right there.

Third question: What is motivating me? Is this wisdom, or am I running from fear? Is this family expectations? Is this selfish pursuits? Is this a lack of security, and I just want peace? Am I trying to convince God to bless what I've already decided I'm going to do? What's motivating me?

And then another question would be: wise people, those who know me - what do they see? Because sometimes wise people can see blind spots that you don't see, just like you can see blind spots they don't see.

And for RaeLynn and me, when we did this, we asked all these people and we prayed and we asked a lot of these questions. I don't think we knew all of these questions back then. But we made a list of the pros and cons, and we just took the shot. Which school do you go to? Here's our list. We just took the shot. We made the best decision we knew how to make, without all the information.

You may never get 100% certainty. But faithfulness often just means making the wisest choice with limited information and trusting God when you take that next step.

Now, you might wonder later if you made the best choice. We did. You might realize later that that was a half-court shot and you thought it was a layup, and you might just not have had the wisdom when you made the decision to know that. And because you learned through the bad decision, you were like, "Oh - if I could do that again, I would do something different."

But let me give you some encouragement. God is not waiting for you to make the perfect decision. God doesn't need you to make the perfect decision. He's that good - he can make your half-court decision a three-pointer every time. He can. I was going to say he can hit a home run with a broken bat, but I don't want to change the sports references here. But you know, I've only said that a million times.

So RaeLynn and I made the decision to stay in Lakeland. We chose the school that we had to pay for. Within six months of beginning classes - and because of all that travel up to Virginia - we realized I needed to make more money. She was working full time, I was working part time, but I needed to pick it up. And so a part-time job at a church opened up in Wisconsin. And so we moved our family to Wisconsin.

Anyway. We moved. We uprooted our kids. We left our granddaughter anyway - even though we chose the option where we could stay. And so we moved to Wisconsin. And when we got to Wisconsin, within a year RaeLynn lost her job, which was the other thing that was part of the decision to stay and go to the school we picked. So all these things that led us away from the one school, they happened anyway. And now, in 2026, we're still paying on the school loans from the school we chose.

So do we have regret sometimes? Was it the wisest shot? I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. Because we did the best we could with the limited information that we had.

But let me tell you what I do know. I don't know what that other path would have done. I know I wouldn't still have school debt. But besides that, I do know this: when I began those PhD studies, I was burned out and I was tired and I was pretty broken, and I never thought I'd be a pastor again. I was going to be a professor. And somewhere along that road - the road that we chose, the road of the first school - somewhere along that road, God began to heal my heart. But he also began transforming my views about church and about ministry.

And I've got to tell you, living for four years in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin gave my soul space to breathe like I had never breathed before. I learned to pray differently in Wisconsin. I learned to love God differently. I learned to love my family differently. And eventually, that's the road that led us to Avalon Church. There is no way we would have come to Avalon had I gone the other path, because too many things relied on Wisconsin for us to come here. I won't even get into that story.

So - did we make the right decision? Wrong question. Did we make a right decision? 100%. Absolutely. I know that we made a right decision. What if we chose the other path? I think we would have made a right decision, but our life would be very, very different now.

We made the best decision we knew how to make. And in God's mercy, he met us on the road we chose. That is what he does. That is the promise. God is bringing beauty from ashes all the time.

Before we leave, I'd like to pray this benediction that I thought about this week:

That in a world full of questions, may God give you eyes to see his mercy and ears to hear the voice of the Spirit. When the way ahead isn't clear, may you have the wisdom to recognize what is good and what is faithful and what is loving. And may you be transformed by the renewing of your mind as you are formed into the image of Jesus Christ our Lord. And it's in his name we pray. Amen.

Have a beautiful week.