Let the Dead Bury Their Dead
It’s three in the morning, isn't it? That's when the question always seems to get the loudest. You're staring at the ceiling, turning a decision over and over in your mind until its edges are worn smooth with anxiety. Should I take the job? Should I move the family? Is this relationship the one? We treat the will of God like some grand, secret blueprint locked away in a heavenly vault, and we spend our days frantic, searching for a key or a sign or at least a leaked memo that gives us a hint about the next chapter. We become paralyzed by the fear of taking a wrong step, of missing the one perfect path God has laid out, so we do nothing at all, waiting for a divine permission slip that never seems to arrive.
Then you read a story that just shatters the whole paradigm. It’s right there in Matthew’s gospel. One of Christ’s own disciples comes to Him with a perfectly reasonable request, a deeply honorable and culturally mandatory duty. He says, “Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.” It’s a good thing to do. A responsible thing. But Jesus’s answer cuts through every excuse, every delay, every 'sensible' plan we could ever construct. He looks that man in the eye and says, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” The call of Christ is not one priority among many; it is the single, defining priority that reorders everything else. It doesn't wait for our timelines or our family obligations to be neatly resolved.
And here's the thing that changes everything about our search. God’s will is not primarily a what, a where, or a when; it is a Who. The first and most important step in discovering His will for your life is not to figure out the destination, but to simply start walking with the Guide. The call is immediate. It is total. It asks for a level of trust that feels reckless to the world, a willingness to drop our own well-intentioned plans in favor of simple, active obedience to a Person. He doesn't hand you a map; He extends a hand and says, “Follow me.” That is the will of God for you today. Full stop.
But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.— Matthew 8:22, KJV
He Was Asleep in the Storm
So we follow. We get in the boat, just like the disciples did, feeling righteous and obedient. And we secretly believe that because we're now 'in God's will,' the journey across the sea will be a smooth one, with sunny skies and a gentle breeze. We've built our little lives with the right materials, we've prayed the right prayers, and we expect God to honor our faithfulness with a life free of turbulence. But then the tempest arises, sudden and violent, and the waves begin to crash over the sides, swamping our carefully laid plans and our tidy theology. All our strength, all our strategies, all our religious performance suddenly mean nothing against the raw power of the storm, and we are left soaked, terrified, and convinced we're about to go under.
In that moment of sheer panic, the disciples scramble to the back of the boat where Jesus is, astonishingly, asleep on a pillow. They shake him awake with an accusation born of terror: “Lord, save us: we perish.” They could only see the immediate threat, the water filling their boat, the wind tearing at the sail. But Jesus was at rest, a perfect picture of trust in His Father's sovereignty, because His presence in the boat was the guarantee of their safety, not the absence of the storm. The finished work of Christ is our ultimate security. He is our peace, not because He prevents every gale, but because He has already conquered the one thing that can truly destroy us—sin and death. He is our calm in the midst of the chaos.
Notice what He says when He wakes. He doesn't immediately rebuke the wind; He first rebukes their fear. “Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?” He asks. The issue wasn't their desire to be saved, but the source of their fear. They were afraid because they were looking at the size of the waves instead of the identity of the man in their boat. Being in the will of God does not mean you will bypass the storm. Often, it means He leads you directly into it, not to drown you, but to reveal to you a power that makes the wind and the sea obey. The storm is part of the will, a divine classroom designed to demolish our self-reliance and teach us what it means to truly trust Him.
And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.— Matthew 8:26, KJV
The Purpose on the Other Side
After the terrifying storm comes the great calm. You breathe a sigh of relief. You’ve made it through. You followed Him, you trusted Him through the tempest, and now you've arrived on the other side, ready for the reward, the rest, the welcome party. But instead of a peaceful shore, the first thing that greets you is two men, possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, so “exceeding fierce” that no one else even dared to walk that way. This is the will of God? This is where following Jesus leads? It leads directly into the heart of enemy territory, to the places of deepest darkness, pain, and spiritual oppression. It’s not about finding our personal comfort zone; it’s about being His instrument in the war zone.
And don't you dare miss the beautiful, empowering truth in that confrontation. The demons are not confused about who they're dealing with. They cry out immediately, “What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?” They recognized His authority instantly. Friends, when you walk into the broken and fierce places of this world in the name of Jesus, you don't go in your own strength. You walk in under the banner of the One whom all of hell recognizes and fears. You can rest, not in your own cleverness or spiritual fortitude, but in His overwhelming authority. Don’t be surprised by the fight; be confident in your Commander.
So this is what the daily walk looks like. It is a constant, conscious decision to follow Him into the inconvenient, the messy, and the difficult. It means seeing the family gathering not as an obligation to be endured, but as a shore to land on with the authority of Christ. It means viewing the conflict at work not as a personal attack, but as a tomb from which you can call forth life. The will of God is found in the next right thing, the next act of love, the next extension of grace, the next step of obedience. It is a thousand small surrenders that add up to a life wholly His.
And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?— Matthew 8:29, KJV
That Good, and Acceptable, and Perfect Will
So how do we know? How do we prove this will? The Apostle Paul gives us the bedrock, the unshakeable foundation for it all. He writes, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The evidence of God’s will is not an external sign in the sky or a feeling in your gut. The proof is an internal transformation. As you steep your mind in the Word of God, as you allow the Holy Spirit to rewire your thinking, your desires begin to change. You start to love what God loves and hate what He hates, and discerning His will becomes less about deciphering a code and more about walking in a character that reflects His own.
This is a lifelong process, not a one-time decision. The world will never stop screaming its version of a better plan for your life, a will centered on self-preservation, comfort, and the accumulation of things. It will always present a thousand good reasons to go bury the dead first, to stay in the safe harbor instead of launching into the deep. Do not listen. To return to that way of thinking is to return to chains you've been freed from. Having known the thrill of His presence in the tempest, the deceptive calm of the shore will never satisfy you again. God’s will is rarely safe by the world’s standards. But it is always good. It is always acceptable. And it is always perfect.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.— Romans 12:2, KJV
So let go of the anxious striving tonight. Put down the complicated maps and the endless pro-con lists that have been keeping you up. The great quest to 'find God’s will' is over, because it was never a quest for a thing in the first place. It is an invitation to know a Person. The will of God for you, right now, in this moment, is to turn your face toward Jesus Christ and take one small step in His direction. Listen for His simple, profound, life-altering call. It's the same one He's been issuing for two thousand years: “Follow me.” He will take care of the destination.