“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”1 Thessalonians 5:14-18.
We make decisions every day and we would like to make decisions that are compatible with God’s will. But how do we know God’s will? I believe that about 99.99%of God’s will can be found in the Bible. If we think we have found God’s will but our decision is contrary to the Word, we can be assured that it is not God’s will. But it is not that easy!What about things that are not spelled out for us. What if we are trying to decide what job to take, which house to buy, or even where to put our money, can we really find places in the Bible that can help us?
When making decisions like this, the first thing we should do is to see which of our decisions will be more compatible with God’s Word. If the decision will result in compromising a Biblical truth, then it would probably not be a good decision. Let’s say we were considering taking a new job, 
but that job would greatly interfere with our ability to spend any time at all with our kids. Because there are many verses in the Bible that point to importance to family, we might see this as an indication that that job might not be God’s will and thus not to our advantage.
So where do we find these very helpful verses? All through the Bible! Let’s just take a look at five verses from 1 Thessalonians and look at how many valuable aids Paul has left us if we are trying to do God’s will. If we are making a choice and that choice will violate one of the following instructions, we should think twice before making it.
Take a moment to think about these clear and powerful exhortations concerning the will of God for believers in our verses from Thessalonians. These exhortations express the 
specific will of God in relationships with others, with ourselves, and with the Lord. Packed into these short verses are patterns of life and behavior which will receive His blessing in these relationships.
“Warn them that are unruly…” When we know people who are idle, undisciplined, pleasure seeking, they need to know the danger they are in. Watching silently as people destroy their lives is not in the will of God. Other parts of God’s Word show us how to approach them; these words just tell us we should.
“Comfort the feebleminded…” We should comfort people who are disheartened, disoriented or confused. We should come alongside them with brotherly affection, encouraging words, and prayer.
“Support the weak…” Our natural tendency is to despise and neglect weaker people, to stay away from them since they have nothing to offer us, can damage our reputation and often require a long-term time commitment. Jesus says find 
them and lift them up whenever we can.
“Be patient toward all men…” We must realize how patient God is with us, and that “patience” is the first thing that love is. See 1 Corinthians 13:4 for confirmtion! Patience means waiting in love and hope, with prayer, for people to see what they need to see, do what they need to do, change how they need to change.
“See that none render evil for evil…” We should not allow evil men in this world to corrupt our own behavior and character. This is a constant temptation throughout life because evil people are everywhere, including the church. It is easy for us to compromise our own faith because others do it. We need to stay strong in light of worldly influences.
“Follow that which is good…” Doing good of every kind is our lifelong mandate as believers; there are millions of ways to obey it. (unfortunately also as many ways to disobey it) God’s will for us to do good toward all men – even those who don’t deserve it!
“Rejoice evermore…” This is sometimes a tough one to get a handle on, but we know that Jesus has rescued us from an eternity unspeakable misery and pain to everlasting joy and pleasure. This constant reality in our lives can give a reason to rejoice even when the woes of this world attack us.
“Pray without ceasing…” Some of us might find the idea of praying constantly just a pipe dream. The Lord, however, is wide open to communication with Him 24/7, why not continually include Him in your words and thoughts? He should never be far from our minds and we should continuously look for reasons to speak to Him.
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you…”; Before we pray, before we work, before we travel, we should be do so in the spirit of thankfulness. Gratitude can change our whole approach to everything. Thankfulness to our Redeemer in all things lets Him know that we know who is in charge and what He has done for us.
Just think what the result would be if all Christians followed just these instructions from Thessalonians on a daily basis. It is often said that if all believers looked like believers, it would cause the biggest evangelistic explosion the world has ever seen. God’s Word shows us how to be the kind of people we should be. If we will search for God’s will in the scripture and will act on the His will, we will be different.
The will of God is not so hard to figure out when we realize that these kinds of verses we see above are throughout the entire Bible. Just obeying these exhortations in these verses can give us direction in many, many decisions. Wherever the Lord calls us, He calls us to live out these things. God’s Holy Spirit inspired these words, and He alone gives us the power to carry them out. Our part is to believe and act, and He then will direct our paths.
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