Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” John 6:28-29

“I’m praying for God’s will for my life.”

We’ve all said it and we have all spent time in prayer asking God to make it clear what He wants us to do with our lives.

There are so many options and so many needs in this world. I’ve found myself in moments where I wanted to do it all, moments I’ve been pulled every direction in life to try and meet every need. I want to adopt a child, I want to go into the broken places to proclaim the gospel. I want to go to all the ethnic groups in the world who are unreached and share the Gospel. I want to proclaim that Jesus has torn down the wall of hostility between races and has made different races one people in Christ.

Overwhelmed, I found myself silent, still and doing nothing at all. I wanted to do the big things for God, you know? I wanted to hear Him in a burning bush telling me to go free the slaves. I wanted to call fire down from heaven to show Gods power. I wanted to heal the blind and lame and tell them it was because of Jesus that they are healed! What a Glory that would be!

I realize now, I wanted those things for selfish reasons. Of course I wanted to do those things because of Jesus but really deep down I wanted people to look at me and I wanted to see a sign or wonder, maybe to help my unbelief.

Then one day as I was reading the Word, I came to John chapter 6. The chapter starts with Jesus feeding the 5,000, then tells the story of Jesus walking on the sea. What Glory! How amazing would it be to see those things??

I came to verse 24 and continued reading:

24 when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?”
26 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” 28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

I re-read and placed myself in the passage. Then I read Matthew 6:33, “seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.”

God what must I do to do your work? What do you want me to do? What’s your will for my life?

I had found the answer to the most commonly asked question in the Christian world. Gods will for my life and for yours is to believe in Jesus. Seek Jesus.

I know what you’re thinking, “I already believe in Jesus, so is that it, I’ve completed Gods will for my life?” No, that’s not what He’s saying. He’s not saying just believe then continue life like everyone else. On the contrary, our belief in Jesus accomplished His will for our lives. Let me explain.

When we believe the Gospel of Christ, we are saved. We are saved by Grace alone through Faith alone. But the Gospel not only saves us, it sustains us. It sanctifies us. When we believe we are declared righteous by the work of Christ, but we still sin, although not willingly but there are things in life we do we don’t even realize are wrong that Jesus will begin to reveal as we believe in Him and as He reveals it, He changes our hearts day by day. So a quick and simple explanation is this:

We are saved by believing the Gospel. (Romans 1:16)

When we believe the Gospel and in Christs work for us, we love Him. (1st John 4:19)

When we love Him we want to be with Him. We commune with Him (spend time with Him) by reading His Word and praying. The more time we spend with Him the more we know Him. The more we know Him the more we believe the Gospel. (Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, Romans 10:17)

This cycle continues and as it does, we grow closer and believe more and love more and He speaks more and transforms our hearts more and He conforms us to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 2:10)

This is how we rest. Tho once we were fighting to save the world and to turn from sin from our own power, now through us Jesus works to cleanse us of sin and to follow the Spirit through the everyday parts of life and as we live we are light and salt. Our lives will make those around us thirst for Jesus as Jesus works in us.

In conclusion, whatever we seek can’t be found by pursuing it, but by pursuing Jesus.

We wont find peace by pursuing peace, we find peace by pursuing Jesus. We won’t find joy by pursuing joy, but by pursuing Jesus. We won’t find victory over sin by pursuing it, but by pursuing Jesus we have victory over sin. We won’t find life by pursuing life, we find life by pursuing Jesus. Jesus is all of these things and to find them we must seek Jesus.

This is Gods will for your life Christian, believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.