Every session has a point—what each participant should walk away from the discussion knowing, feeling, and doing.

• Main Idea: God’s calling for us to enjoy and exalt him in the world looks different for each of us because he places us in unique contexts.
• Head Change: To know we can participate in God’s will to enjoy him and exalt him in our own contexts.
• Heart Change: To feel empowered to live in God’s will in the circumstances he gives us.
• Life Change: To stop comparing our specific life contexts with others, and instead seek opportunities to serve God where we are.

Would you rather research first or spontaneously embark on a trip? Why?

We all approach big events differently. Some of us are planners: we make our lists; research the best routes, restaurants, and rests; and then coordinate as many details as possible. Others of us would rather just throw a bag together, jump in the car or on a plane, and see what adventure happens to us. Those opposite ways of approaching travel are similar to how we think of God’s will: we either want it written clearly and in detail so we can know what to expect, or we launch ourselves out there with a vague idea of where he’s leading. In today’s session, as he wraps up our series on the foundations of our faith, David Platt will explain how God has the same purpose for each of us, yet we live it out in wildly different ways.

Watch Session 10: What Is God’s Will for Your Life? (11 minutes).

David opened with the question so many of us ask: What is God’s will for my life? But he doesn’t give us the answer we want him to give. When have you asked, or been tempted to ask, what God wanted you to do? How do you handle not always knowing how he feels about a decision you need to make or what your future will hold?

David told us we are asking the wrong question. Instead, we should be asking, “God, what is your will in the world, and how can I align myself with it?” How is David’s question different from or similar to how you think about God’s will? What benefits do you find in thinking about God’s will as something to align with?

God isn’t hiding his will. As we’ve seen throughout this series, God wants us to enjoy him in all of his glory and then exalt him to the world. And because each of us is unique, his purpose plays out in beautifully different ways. What makes you able to serve God in ways no one else can?

Sometimes God’s plans for others look more appealing than his purpose for us, and we can be tempted to compare our lives with the ways God uses others. In what ways are we deceiving ourselves when we compare our circumstances with others?

In Acts 13:1–4, Paul and Silas were called to a specific ministry the rest of the Antiochan Christians were not given. And in 14:26, we see where that specific ministry came to a close. Sometimes we are called to serve God in a particular way for a specified amount of time, not the rest of our lives. What examples can you think of that fit a short-term, specific call? If you’ve ever participated in a short-term calling from God, how did you know you would be involved for only a certain amount of time?

David offered four ways God calls us to live. First, we are called to salvation. God has invited each believer into a relationship with him, and just as someone shared the gospel with us, he wants us to carry his message of grace to others. How did you first hear the gospel? In what ways do you feel empowered to tell others about Christ?

Second, God calls us to mission. We are called to make disciples of all nations in whatever context he has placed us, using whatever abilities he has given us. In what ways have you believed “mission” only applies to professional missionaries or formal occasions such as mission trips abroad? To what extent have you accepted his call to make disciples where you are?

Third, God calls us to our station in life, the positions we hold personally, professionally, and culturally. As mothers and fathers, students and leaders, or even as citizens of a particular region or country—wherever God has placed us in a community, we are called to make disciples. Our tasks in our station in life, whatever they may be, allow us to exalt God in a specific way that others cannot. How many unique positions do you hold in your context? Where do you feel most effective in your disciple-making right now? In which one do you know or sense God giving you a direct opportunity to impact someone’s faith?

Fourth, God calls us to service—to make disciples “in different ways, at different times, among different people, in different locations, and through different vocations,” as David said. Saul and Barnabas may have been sent away to preach to far-off people in Acts 13, but the church in Antioch continued their ministry at home, obeying God’s call to love and serve their city and to pray for their missionaries. We too are asked to faithfully live out the unique call God has placed on our lives. In your church, what kind of variety do you see in how people serve each other and the community? What gifts are being used to glorify God in those different positions? Where do you see yourself applying your abilities to help meet needs?

Enjoying and exalting God is not limited to church contexts. Many of us work in corporate, retail, and other professional environments. We nurture our own family relationships. Some will go to faraway places to share the gospel, but most of us will stay local, following God’s will as we influence his kingdom one relationship at a time. Where, and with whom, do you spend the majority of your days? In what ways do you invest in the lives of those you spend time with?

“Don’t worry about finding God’s will,” David said. Rather, we are to ask one another how to join his efforts right where we are and rely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom and strength as we go. As we each do our part, the gospel spreads and disciples are made across the globe. What is God doing in your context, and what is one way you can join him?