The idea and cultivation of God’s will and purpose is a topic that will always be somewhat of a mystery to us humans — that’s part of the divine design. However, God does give a couple of ways to discern the next steps for each of our lives — his hidden will and his unveiled will.
His hidden will and purpose require us to step out in act of faith and trust that he has our path already laid out for us. This is shared with us through the letter Paul wrote to Thessalonica, in 1 Thessalonians. God's hidden will is for his children to lean into his love and all-knowing power; it’s for us to trust that he will bless and lead us when we don’t know what the next move is.
For this is the will of God, Your Sanctification
1 Thessalonians 4:3ESV
God’s unveiled will is a little more instructional and straight to the point. His will is for your sanctification. What does sanctification mean? To sanctify is to be in the process of looking more like Jesus. God’s will for us is to become more and more like his son Jesus — that is our sanctification. In following the example he laid before us, we become more like him, and less like the world we live in. When we choose to walk down this path, we are called to live differently, to bear fruit in our character.
