Asking God what he wants you to do is a common question Christians ask. It’s even an honorable thing to ask, “What does God want me to do?” It reveals a heart longing to be obedient.
There are many things that the Bible instructs us to do. Even Jesus gave us a new commandment to obey. But God created us as human beings, not human doings.
In this article, we’ll cover the most important thing God wants us to do, the difference between doing and being, and then what God wants us to be.
What Does God Want Me to Do
In the Old Testament, God gave Israel the Ten Commandments. In the New Testament, Jesus identified the most important one. In Matthew 22, we read the following passage.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
All the law and the prophets hang on loving God and loving people. That is an important thing to take note of.
Love is the most important thing for a believer to do. 1 Corinthians 12:31 calls it the most excellent way.
However, many a believer takes that instruction and attempts to walk in love through effort by practicing behaviors.
That isn’t necessarily bad. Practicing is good, it’s just insufficient. God has a better way. The Apostle John reveals it in 1 John 4 that God himself is our source of love.
We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us…God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us… (1 John 4:10-12,16-17).
Receiving the love of God, trusting the love of God, and sharing the love of God is the most important thing for a believer to do. Every other instruction flows out of it.
The Difference Between Doing and Being
What does God want me to do? Doing is simply what you do. It’s activity, your actions, how you behave, what people see.
People do things for many reasons, or sometimes for no reason at all. Doing can be superficial, fake, and pretentious.
Being on the other hand is who you are: your nature, your essence, your presence. Your being is formed by what you think and believe. It’s what motivates you. Read the words of Jesus himself,
You don’t get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good apples off a diseased tree. The health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own life-giving lives. It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds (Luke 6:43-45, MSG).
God is far more interested in who you are on the inside than superficial behavior. He knows that as you be-come more like him, your behavior will honor him more and more.
What Does God Want Me to Do according to the Bible?
Above all else, God wants you to be his because he loves you.
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness (Jeremiah 31:3).
God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure (Ephesians 1:5).
Those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them (John 6:37, NLT).
After we come to God the Father through Jesus Christ, he longs for us to be-come like him.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children, (Ephesians 5:1).
How do you do that? Through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you, as you meditate on what to be-come. Becoming in a process of transformation.
Go through the following collection of scriptures on what is written that God wants you to be, instead of just do. See how many things he desires you to be.
Find one or two to focus on in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to help you be-come more like God.
…be born again,…see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).
…be transformed by the renewing of your mind(Romans 12:2).
Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful (Luke 6:36).
…be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (Ephesians 4:23).
…be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power (Ephesians 6:10).
…be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you (Deuteronomy 31:6).
…be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry (James 1:19).
In Joshua 1, “Be strong and courageous” is stated repeatedly by the Lord to his people, which reveals his comfort and presence. In the New Testament, it is the Holy Spirit that is with us, guiding us in what we are to be.
…be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18).
…be humble and gentle (Ephesians 4:2).
We are told, within biblical marriage, to be fruitful and multiply, to have children, and be stewards of the earth.
“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28).
“…be fruitful and multiply; Bring forth abundantly in the earth And multiply in it” (Genesis 9:7).
We are told to be righteous and holy as our Father, to be strong, to make a joyful noise to the Lord — the matters of the heart that God knows so fully.
Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love (Ephesians 4:2).
“Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16; Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7).
…be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:1).
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart (Psalm 32:11).
During our time on earth, our hearts are to be ready for Christ’s return, knowing this is not our home, we have an eternal home where we belong with him.
Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, (Luke 12:35).
Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come (Mark 13:33).
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13).
So always be ready, because you don't know the day your Lord will come (Matthew 24:42).
1 Peter 5:8, in three different translations, says for us to be alert, for there is a spiritual war that exists and is ever-present:
Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack (CEV).
Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour (Holman Christian Standard).
Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour(AMP).
Romans 12:10, in two translations, tells us to love those around us. Revealing such love to them, more than we give to ourselves shows the world the love of Christ because, as selfish beings, it is a hard concept to grasp, and thus, depicts a different kind of love.
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another (Berean).
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another (KJV).
Let love be your greatest motivator to internal transformation. This will not only bless the heart of God but will bring you great joy.
For further reading:
What Does the Bible Say about Life?
What Does God Really Want Me to Do with My Life?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Delpixart
Danielle Bernock is an international, award-winning author, coach, and speaker who helps people embrace their value and heal their souls through the power of the love of God. She’s written Emerging With Wings, A Bird Named Payn, Love’s Manifesto, Because You Matter, and hosts the Victorious Souls Podcast. A long-time follower of Christ, Danielle lives with her husband in Michigan near her adult children and grandchildren. For more information or to connect with Danielle https://www.daniellebernock.com/
