FINDING YOUR “YES”: 4 SIMPLE GUIDEPOSTS TO DISCERN GOD’S WILL

Ever feel like you’re sitting around waiting for God to drop a detailed instruction manual from heaven?

Yeah, me too.

As church leaders and worship leaders, we face decisions every single day. Should I pursue that ministry opportunity? Is it time to step back from this role? What does God actually want me to do with the gifts He’s given me?

Here’s the thing: God doesn’t want us passively waiting around for Him to spell everything out. He wants us to actively discern His will. There’s a big difference.

Don’t Just Wait, Discern

Look at what Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:17: “Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

Some translations say “don’t act foolishly.” One even says “don’t act mindlessly.” The point? God expects us to engage our minds and hearts in this process.

Think about it like being a student in a classroom. You could just sit there with your notebook open, waiting for the teacher to cram knowledge into your brain. Or you could lean in, ask questions, and actively wrestle with the material until you really understand it.

That’s discernment. It’s putting something under a microscope, looking at it from different angles, and thoughtfully, not thoughtlessly, considering what God is showing you.

The Parable That Changes Everything

Remember the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25? A master gives bags of money to three servants, five to one, two to another, and one to the last. Then he leaves. For a long time.

Here’s what blows my mind: The master never told them what to do with the money.

He didn’t give them a step-by-step plan. He didn’t send them detailed instructions while he was away. He just expected them to know him well enough to figure out what he would want.

That’s the heart of discernment, friends. If we’re going to know God’s will, we need to know God. And when our hearts are on fire for Jesus, when we’re abiding in Him, we start to naturally align with what He desires.

The D.R.O.P. Framework

So how do we actually do this? Let me give you four guideposts that have helped countless church leaders, worship team members, and ministry workers discern God’s direction. You can remember them with the acronym D.R.O.P.

1. Desires (Psalm 37:4)

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Notice it doesn’t say He’ll fulfill your selfish, fleshly wishes. It says He’ll give you the desires themselves, He plants them, and then He grants them.

What godly dream has been buried in your heart for years? Maybe it felt too overwhelming or you convinced yourself it wasn’t “spiritual” enough. But if it keeps surfacing, year after year, that might be God whispering His vision for your life.

I remember when I was nine years old, watching a father lovingly speak to his kids, and suddenly feeling this overwhelming desire to be a dad someday. I wasn’t looking for that moment. I was playing basketball! But God planted something that didn’t come to pass for another 20 years.

Your turn: Write down one godly desire you’ve been sitting on. No one else has to see it, just get it on paper.

2. Resources (What God Has Already Given You)

God has blessed you with something. Maybe it’s:

• Time in a particular season of life
• Talents and abilities you were born with or developed
• Spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit placed in you
• Knowledge and experience you’ve gained
• Relationships with people who can partner with you

On a flight home from Africa in 2015, I kept praying, “God, send someone to help these people!” I felt Him interrupt my thoughts: “Dwayne, stop saying ‘I can’t do this’ and start thinking ‘we.’ I’ve already connected you with gifted people. Bring them over. Connect them.”

That shift from “I” to “we” changed everything for Next Level Worship. We started mobilizing teams, and now we’re partnering with leaders in nearly 20 countries.

Your turn: What resources has God already placed in your hands? List them out, even the ones that seem small.

3. Opportunities (What’s Right in Front of You)

Sometimes we’re so busy looking for the “big thing” that we miss what God is showing us right now.

Look around:

• In your family: Could you start a weekly devotional time together?
• In your church: Is there a need you could fill, even if it’s not your “dream role”?
• In your community: What doors has God already opened that you’ve been ignoring?

Don’t put parameters on it yet. Don’t worry about whether you “like” it or whether you have the budget. Just notice what’s catching your attention.

As a lead worshipper or church leader, you’re uniquely positioned to see needs others might miss. That awareness is itself a gift.

Your turn: Write down three opportunities you see around you right now, even if they seem random.

4. Peace (Colossians 3:15)

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts.”

The word “rule” here means to act like an umpire, calling the shots, making the final decision.

You might have the desire, the resources, and the opportunity. But if you don’t have peace, don’t move.

God’s peace is that settled sense deep in your spirit that passes understanding. It’s the Holy Spirit’s green light. If you’re not getting it, wait.

This is where whole-life worship comes in. When your life is continually surrendered to God, you become more sensitive to His leading and more attuned to that peace.

Your turn: As you review your desires, resources, and opportunities, which ones give you peace? Which ones make you uneasy?

The Beauty of Boundaries

Here’s the plot twist: These same four guideposts can also serve as boundaries.

If you have the desire and resources but no opportunity or peace, that’s a boundary. And boundaries aren’t bad! The Psalmist said, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places” (Psalm 16:6).

God doesn’t give us boundaries to frustrate us. He gives them to protect us and redirect us toward His best.

When I was 26, I was traveling 200+ dates a year as a worship artist. Every guidepost seemed to point toward a full-time concert career, except peace. God spoke clearly: “Don’t chase that dream. I have something else for you.”

That boundary felt hard at the time, but it led me to mentoring, teaching, and building a global network of worship leaders. God’s “no” was actually a “yes” to something better.

Is It Temporary or Permanent?

The question you have to answer is this: Is the boundary temporary or permanent?

When we were in Scotland recently, I asked our host about the ancient Roman wall I’d read about. He said, “You’re looking at it.” We’d pulled right up to it, it just looked like a grass-covered hill. That wall has been there for thousands of years. It’s permanent.

Some boundaries in your life are permanent. Others are seasonal. The only way to know is to test them.

Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7). Go to the door and knock! But remember, Paul prayed three times about his “thorn in the flesh,” then stopped. He’d pushed enough to know God’s answer was, “My grace is sufficient.”

Don’t spend your life pushing against a boundary God has lovingly placed. Push enough to test it, then trust enough to accept it.

Your Turn Now…

You can’t rush discernment. Block out four or five hours this week. Turn off your phone. Get away somewhere quiet.

Then work through this inventory:

1. Write down your D.R.O.P. factors: Desires, Resources, Opportunities, and areas of Peace (or lack thereof).
2. Underline the guideposts: Which ones clearly point you in a specific direction?
3. Check your investments: For every resource or talent, mark whether you’re actively investing in it or letting it sit dormant.
4. Mark the boundaries: Put an “X” next to anything that feels like a clear “no” from God.

Then ask: “Lord, what do You want me to do to make the most of what You’ve given me?”

The Bottom Line

Discerning God’s will isn’t about waiting for a cosmic email. It’s about knowing God so well that His heart becomes your heart. It’s about actively engaging with what He’s already shown you and trusting that He’s trustworthy.

Whether you’re a worship leader wrestling with a new opportunity, a pastor considering a major decision, or a ministry leader trying to steward your gifts well, you don’t have to figure this out alone.

At Next Level Worship, we exist to help church leaders just like you grow in discernment, vision, and whole-life worship. Our coaching programs and global retreats are designed to help you walk through exactly these kinds of questions with experienced mentors who’ve been there.

Because here’s what I know for sure: God wants you to know His will even more than you want to know it. He’s not playing hide-and-seek with His plans for your life.

So take that inventory. Ask the hard questions. Test those boundaries. And watch what happens when you start actively discerning instead of passively waiting.

Your “yes” is out there. It’s time to find it.

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Dwayne Moore is the founder of Next Level Worship International and has been equipping worship leaders and church leaders around the world for over two decades. He’s passionate about helping people discover God’s unique vision for their lives and ministries.