God's will

"do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will"

romans 12:1-3

how many people ask the question "what is God's will for my life?" as if it were contained in a single answer, and as if in a prayer of petition they might summon that answer like a magic genie? but God does not typically reveal His will to us in a single flash of illumination, from which we can draw out the course of our entire life. instead He is constantly working in and through us to transform us by renewing our minds. however, to engage in this transformation we are given instruction to no longer conform ourselves to the pattern of this world. hmm. what does it mean? we must take a good look first then at what is the pattern of this world? what does the world demand of us in conforming our lives to it? these verses suggest that God's work of transformation is taking place outside of but right next to what is already going on in the world. this idea is exactly like what Jesus said here -

"if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. if you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. as it is, you do not belong to the world, but i have chosen you out of the world. that is why the world hates you"

john 15:18-19

in the process of remaining as we do physically in the world, but no longer conforming our lives to the patterns, the dictates, the values of this world and by submitting our lives fully to Christ we who are daily being transformed in and by the renewing of our mind through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit at work within us are now able to test and approve what is God's will for our lives - His good, pleasing and perfect will. and now engaged as we are in this process we can finally begin to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal answers to all of those questions we have in our daily lives. "is the activity i am engaged in God's will?" "is the direction my life is heading part of His good and pleasing and perfect will?" "in all my ways am i acknowledging Him?" (proverbs 3:6)
but the bottom line in all of this is that we are saying yes to God, submitting ourselves to perfect authority in every area of our lives and in this we are being changed. transformed. renewed. God's will, not mine.