When faced with situations like an impending storm, the desire to understand God's will becomes paramount, as it allows for more precise and aligned prayers. If we could know His will more clearly, our requests would synchronize with what He is working out, eliminating the need to hedge prayers with phrases like "if it's Your will." Instead, we could confidently submit to His purpose, fully aware of what He aims to accomplish. However, as Jesus teaches in the model prayer, we often must simply ask for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, submitting to it even when we do not know its specifics. This submission acknowledges that in many cases, we cannot know His will due to our human limitations and the necessity to exercise faith. Understanding God's will is not always straightforward, as it often lies beyond our grasp, no matter our righteousness or insight. We are limited in comparison to God, who knows everything and precisely what He intends to do, while we possess only a faint inkling of His plans. The example of Abraham illustrates this struggle; though he knew God's general will to judge Sodom and Gomorrah, he remained uncertain about specifics regarding Lot. Yet, relying on his knowledge of God's character—His mercy and love for the righteous—Abraham bargained for the city's preservation without presuming outcomes for individuals, leaving the determination of righteousness in God's hands. God's will is revealed in His instructions, such as those for keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, which reflect His desire for our dedication and spiritual focus during this time. His will encompasses both general and specific choices, an attribute of purpose through which He decides and enacts all things necessary for existence and activity. Everything, both physical and spiritual, is sustained and directed by His purpose and decisive resolve, ensuring that His plans, conceived long before the foundation of the world, progress unhindered toward perfection. God's will includes aspects of necessity, where He must act according to His holy and unchangeable character, and free will, where He chooses actions not dictated by His nature, such as creating the universe or redeeming a people for Himself. Additionally, His will is divided into revealed and secret components; the revealed will, encapsulated in His law and instructions, is accessible for us to follow, while the secret will remains hidden, reserved for His own knowledge. As Jesus instructed, our focus should be on the revealed will—living and witnessing according to His commands—rather than seeking to uncover the secret things, trusting that God knows best when to disclose them.

God does not disregard the testing stage in His plan. He is a manufacturer of righteous character, training Christian soldiers to lead His Kingdom alongside Him. He produces sons and daughters in the image of Jesus Christ, testing every person He chooses through the proving grounds of human life. He puts them through various situations to check and improve their quality, to know when they will break, how well they endure, and how they function in both adverse and favorable conditions. He seeks to understand everything about them, providing opportunities to demonstrate their allegiance to Him. He will not accept any product that fails to meet His high standards of righteousness, maintaining His reputation as God by rejecting anything substandard. God's work with us aims to align our thinking with His and His Son's, enabling us to react properly to situations and make sound, wise decisions based on what we have learned and experienced. He desires us to develop this likemindedness with Him to rule in His Kingdom. Through the process of refusing to conform to this world and transforming our minds into reflections of Christ's, we learn and prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. By rejecting this world and living God's way of life, we come to understand His will. God's will is accessible through His Word, an instruction manual of over 31,000 verses inspired by Him. We have the mental task of reading, studying, meditating on, and accepting these instructions to know what He is doing and what He wants us to do. With the help of His Spirit, we gain an advantage in understanding His will, as the Spirit brings things to mind and aids in proper interpretation. His will is evident in clear declarations such as the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the fruit of the Spirit, which outline how He wants us to act and live. However, God does not want us merely to learn and accept these declarations. He desires us to prove them, to test His will through experience, so we are convinced of its goodness, acceptability, and perfection. He places us in specific situations where we must employ His will, often under pressure or discomfort, to demonstrate that His way is best. Only through living and testing His will do we deeply engrave it into our character, confirming its value and truth. The process of proving God's will is not always quick or easy. It requires deep thought, discernment, and often a significant amount of time to evaluate outcomes and fruit. God provides a head start through His Word to distinguish good from evil, but we are often taught best through experience and trials. This process of determining His will demands patience, especially in relationships, avoiding snap judgments and allowing time for proper evaluation. Proving what is acceptable to the Lord is integral to our Christian walk, as we are children of light called to produce goodness, righteousness, and truth. We must be circumspect, awake, and aware, prioritizing this testing process without wasting time on distractions, for we do not know how much time we have. Understanding God's will comes through living it, making it part of our character, and glorifying Him by producing much fruit. Through the example of Abraham, we see the pattern of proving God's will by acting on His commands, even when promises are long-term or fulfillment is unseen. Abraham proved God's will through obedience, enduring trials and learning from failures, demonstrating faith by believing and acting on God's instructions. As potential sons and daughters of God, we must follow this pattern, living with Him every step, evaluating ourselves and our situations to grow in righteousness and holiness, and discerning good from evil with sharp, vigorous thinking.

We are called to understand and do God's will, especially as the days grow increasingly evil. To move forward, we must grasp what His will entails by imitating His character, for His will is inherently expressed through who He is. By focusing on His significant character traits, we can discern His will in various situations and translate these traits into practical speech and actions in our daily lives, whether at the store, at work, or within the congregation. Our aim is to embody these traits practically, ensuring they are not mere abstract concepts. Faithfulness, akin to the motto Semper Fidelis or "Always Faithful," is a foundational part of God's character and should be in ours as well. God never fails; He is always trustworthy. His words are sure and true, His promises are kept, and His prophecies are fulfilled. He never lies, is never late, and never alters His plans. In essence, God is the epitome of faithfulness. The Greek word "pistos," often translated as faithful, carries both active and passive senses. In the passive sense, as applied to God, it means trustworthy, reliable, and faithful. This trustworthiness is also described as sure, solid, and unmovable, like a firm foundation. God is believable; His witness is absolute truth, as seen in Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, whose testimony is entirely credible due to who He is and what He has done. God's faithfulness assures us that He will confirm us to the end, blameless, until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep us firm, steadfast, and established in faith, completing His work in us. This certainty stems from His character; because He is faithful, He will not waver or go back on His word. If He has called us into fellowship, He is committed to seeing us through to the Kingdom of God, doing all in His power to ensure we reach that goal. In the Old Testament, God's faithfulness is depicted as a Rock—firm, constant, and reliable. He is a God of truth, paralleled with being a faithful God, unchanging and immovable. His faithfulness, along with His justice and righteousness, is a constant that we can rely on, regardless of human leadership or changing circumstances. His dependability ensures that the road He maps for us is true and will lead us to our inheritance. God's faithfulness is immense, reaching to the heavens, encompassing us entirely. It is inexhaustible; we can continually draw upon it without it ever diminishing. His faithfulness to His covenants, such as with David, demonstrates His unwavering commitment, proving that He will uphold His promises to us as well. Even when others fail, His word stands firm, ensuring that His plans, including prophecies about Jesus Christ, are fulfilled exactly as promised. Even in trials, God's faithfulness ensures that we are not tested beyond what we can bear; He provides a way of escape and guards us against adversaries. He brings us along gradually, matching trials to our ability to overcome them. In suffering or persecution, we can commit ourselves to doing right, knowing He is with us, aware of our struggles, and working for our good. Ultimately, because God is faithful, we can endure to the end with a firm hope of salvation and inheriting His Kingdom. Our salvation rests securely in His hands, for He is always faithful—Semper Fidelis.

God desires for us to be thoughtful in our speech and actions, seeking to understand and align with His will. He urges us to use fitting words, avoiding meaningless or overused expressions, as they fail to reflect the depth of His creation or purpose. By observing His character and actions, we can discern His will in various situations, applying His qualities to our own interactions with others. His will is revealed through His goodness, which is always perfectly beneficial, even when it appears otherwise from our limited perspective. Every command and act from Him ultimately produces a positive outcome, teaching us to trust in His design, even amidst trials or suffering. We must strive to be wise in what is good, making discerning choices that reflect His perspective, recognizing that what seems good or evil at the moment may not align with His ultimate purpose. Pursuing what is good for ourselves and others requires careful, prayerful consideration to avoid disrupting the work He is already doing in someone's life.