God does not disregard the testing stage; it is an integral part of 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, running every single person through the proving grounds. He tests each individual He chooses, putting them through the paces to check and improve their quality. He seeks to know when they will break, how well they endure, how they function in adverse and favorable situations, and everything about them, giving them opportunities to show they belong 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 slipshod or substandard. His work aims to teach us to think as He andaffects us to think as He and His Son do, so we can react properly to situations and make sound, wise decisions based on what we have learned and experienced. He tests us on the proving grounds of human life to develop this character and likemindedness with Him, preparing us to rule with Him in His Kingdom. By refusing to conform to this world and transforming our minds into reflections of Christ's, we learn, test, and prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Through rejecting this world and living God's way of life, we come to understand His will. God has provided an instruction manual in Scripture, over 31,000 verses inspired by Him, to learn His will through reading, studying, meditating, and accepting its teachings. With the help of His Spirit, we gain understanding and insight into His will, an advantage over those without it. His will is clear in passages like Exodus 20 with the Ten Commandments, Matthew 5 with the Beatitudes, and Galatians 5 with the fruit of the Spirit, guiding how we should live and relate to one another. However, God does not want us merely to learn and accept these declarations; He desires us to prove them. He wants us to test His will to be convinced of its wisdom and goodness in all situations. God puts us through specific circumstances where we must apply His will, often under pressure or discomfort, to truly know it is the best way. By experiencing and proving His will, it becomes deeply ingrained in our character, confirming that His way is right, good, acceptable, and perfect. The key word in Romans 12:2, "prove," from the Greek "dokimazo," means to test or try something, to evaluate its genuineness or reliability. God tests the genuineness of our faith, and He expects us to test His way of life to see if it is superior. He wants us to live it, to put His will through the paces in all forms, to confirm it as advertised and to experience the promised outcomes. For instance, in Malachi, He challenges us to prove Him by tithing, promising blessings in return, demonstrating that following His command yields the desired results. This principle of proving God's will appears in various Scriptures, such as I Thessalonians 5:21, urging us to test all things for goodness and reject evil, and I John 4:1, instructing us to test spirits to see if they align with God's will. Proving God's will is not always quick or easy; it often requires time, deep thought, and discernment to evaluate outcomes, especially in relationships where snap judgments can be disastrous. We must be patient, forbearing, and merciful, allowing time to confirm our evaluations. In Ephesians 5, proving what is acceptable to the Lord is shown as integral to our Christian walk, producing goodness, righteousness, and truth as children of light. Paul emphasizes being circumspect, aware, and wise in how we live, not wasting time on distractions, as we do not know how much time we have to complete this proving process. In Philippians 1, proving God's will is linked to growing in love, gaining spiritual knowledge, learning discernment, and approving excellent things, all to glorify and praise God through living His way and

When faced with situations like impending storms, we often grapple with how to align our prayers with God's will. Many times, the thought arises that if we knew God's will more precisely, our prayers could be more accurate and specific, targeting the exact purpose He intends. As it is written in Exodus 30:36, prayers should be refined and detailed, allowing us to gain insight into various situations and approach God with clarity. If we could know His will better, our prayers would synchronize with what He is working out, eliminating the need to say phrases like "if it's Your will," because we would already understand it. We could confidently submit to His plan, knowing what He aims to accomplish, and pray accordingly in line with His purpose. In Matthew 6, Jesus provides a model prayer, instructing us to ask for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. He does not specify what that will is, implying that whether we know it or not, we must submit to it. Jesus acknowledges that often we do not or cannot know God's will in specific matters, which requires us to exercise faith. God desires us to understand His will as much as possible, yet certain matters remain beyond our grasp, no matter our righteousness or insight, due to our human limitations compared to His omniscience. The example of Abraham in Genesis 18 illustrates this struggle. Though God personally revealed His intent to investigate Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham did not know the specific outcome for Lot. Despite his concern, Abraham never directly mentioned Lot in his bargaining with God, instead focusing on the righteous in the city. He relied on his knowledge of God's character, trusting that God would not destroy the righteous with the wicked and would show mercy. Abraham exercised faith, leaving the determination of righteousness to God, confident that He would do what is best for the righteous based on His perfect nature. Understanding God's will is a lifelong pursuit for the converted, often more complex than we anticipate. Like Abraham, we may need to leave certain matters to Him in faith, accepting our limited understanding. God's instructions, such as those for keeping the Feast of Tabernacles, represent His will for us. These instructions call for dedication and spiritual focus, prioritizing our relationship with Him above all else, revealing His general will for specific times and actions. God's will is an attribute of purpose, encompassing His decisions and actions necessary for the existence and activity of Himself and all creation. It includes both general and specific choices, sustained by His continuous involvement, as seen in Ephesians 1:11, where He works all things according to His purpose. Though we glimpse the scope and certainty of His will, its full breadth remains beyond our comprehension due to our finite minds. His will progresses unhindered toward His aims, demonstrating His sovereignty and omnipotence. God's will can be categorized into necessary and free aspects. His necessary will reflects decisions He must make due to His unchanging, holy character, such as never lying or ceasing to exist. His free will includes choices not bound by His nature, like creating the universe or redeeming a special people for Himself, actions He undertook out of volition, as affirmed in Revelation 4, where creation proceeds from His will and is sustained by Him. Further distinctions exist between God's revealed and secret will. In Deuteronomy 29:29, He states that secret things belong to Him, while revealed things, such as His law, are given to us to follow. By adhering to His revealed will, we can avoid negative consequences, trusting that He withholds certain knowledge for our benefit. In Acts 1, Jesus reinforces this by redirecting the disciples from seeking secret knowledge about future events to focusing on their mission as witnesses, empowered by the Holy Spirit, emphasizing that some aspects of God's will remain in the Father's authority alone.

As children of light, we are called to walk in a manner that reflects our transformation from darkness to light, proving what is acceptable to the Lord. This practical instruction urges us to live out our faith by finding out what pleases Him through our conduct. By walking as children of light, we actively demonstrate and discover what aligns with God's will, gaining understanding through obedience to His commands. This process of proving what is acceptable to the Lord often requires us to act in faith, even when full understanding is not immediate. As we submit to His directives, He gradually reveals the reasons behind them, deepening our insight into His purposes. Whether it involves forgiving repeatedly, being slow to speak, or submitting to one another, our obedience in these areas allows us to uncover His will over time, even if it tests our loyalty and patience. In situations where His will is unclear, we are encouraged to rely on a growing knowledge of His character to guide our decisions. By understanding His traits, we can narrow down our choices, eliminating options that do not align with His nature. This approach helps us to behave wisely, ensuring our actions reflect our identity as children of light and representatives of Him, striving to glorify Him in every step we take.