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God does not send us out on a fool’s errand, expecting us to discern His will like an old man listening to his aching knees to discern the weather.
ARE YOU CONFUSED YET?
Sometimes we speak of all things happening according to God’s will. Other times we talk
about being obedient and doing the will of God. And still other times we talk about finding the will of God.
On the first side is God’s will of decree. This refers to what God has ordained.
will of decree.
“Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which he upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty–all things, in fact, come to us not by chance, but from his fatherly hand.”
God’s will of desire.
God’s will of direction.
when we seek God’s will of direction. We want to know His individual, specific plan for the who, what, where, when, and how of our lives. We want to know His direction.
But while we are free to ask God for wisdom, He does not burden us with the task of divining His will of direction for our lives ahead of time.
Trusting in God’s will of decree is good. Following His will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God’s will of direction is a mess. It is bad for your life, harmful to your sanctification, and allows too many Christians to be passive tinkerers who strangely feel more spiritual the less they actually do.
The better way is the biblical way: Seek first the kingdom of God, and then trust that He will take care of our needs, even before we know what they are and where we’re going.
Some Christians need encouragement to think before they act. Others need encouragement to act after they think.
Many of us have had it so good that we have started looking for heaven on earth. We have lost any sort of pilgrim attitude.
But as a counterweight to the “make your dreams come true” stuff of graduation speeches, we need the firm reminder that many of us expect too much out of life. We’ve assumed that we’ll experience heaven on earth, and then we get disappointed when earth seems so unheavenly.
We have little
longing left for our reward in the next life because we’ve come to expect such rewarding ex...
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In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz tells of a trip to his local moderately sized grocery store. He found 285 varieties of cookies, 13 sports drinks, 65 box drinks, 85 kids’ juices, 75 iced teas, 95 types of chips and pretzels, 15 kinds of bottled water, 80 different pain relievers, 40 options for toothpaste, 150 lipsticks, 360 types of shampoo, 90 different cold remedies, 230 soups, 75 instant gravies, 275 varieties of cereal, 64 types of barbeque sauce, and 22 types of frozen waffles.
That’s why we stick with certain cereals or brands or meals because we simply don’t have the time or energy to make new choices every time we venture off to the Super Walmart or Safeway.
“Decide” comes from the Latin word decidere, meaning “to cut off,” which explains why decisions are so hard these days.
We aren’t asking for holiness, or righteousness, or an awareness of sin. We want God to tell us what to do so everything will turn out pleasant for us. “Tell me who to marry, where to live, what school to go to, what job to take. Show me the future so I won’t have to take any risks.”
His way is to speak to us in the Scriptures and transform us by the renewing of our minds. His way is not a crystal ball. His way is wisdom. We should stop looking for God to reveal the future to us and remove all risk from our lives. We should start looking to God—His character and His promises—and thereby have confidence to take risks for His name’s sake.
Are you feeling directionally challenged by this? Don’t despair. God promises to be your sun and your shield and to carry you and protect with His strong right arm. So we can stop pleading with God to show us the future, and start living and obeying like we are confident that He holds the future.
The most important issues for God are moral purity, theological fidelity, compassion, joy, our witness, faithfulness, hospitality, love, worship, and faith.
In other words, we spend most of our time trying to figure out nonethical decisions. When I say nonethical or nonmoral matters, I’m talking about decisions between two or more options, none of which is forbidden in Scripture.
My point is that we should spend more time trying to figure out how to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God (as instructed in Micah 6:8) as a doctor or lawyer and less time worrying about whether God wants us to be a doctor or lawyer.
We don’t have to say “If the Lord wills” after every sentence, but it must be in our heads and hearts.
We must live our lives believing that all of our plans and strategies are subject to the immutable will of God.
Worry about the future is not simply a character tic, it is the sin of unbelief, an indication that our hearts are not resting in the promises of God.
God expects and encourages us to
make choices, confident that He’s already determined how to fit our choices into His sovereign will.
Perhaps our inactivity is not so much waiting on God as it is an expression of the fear of man, the love of the praise of man, and disbelief in God’s providence.
First, God’s will is that we live holy, set-apart lives: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
The most important decision we face is the daily decision to live for Christ and die to self.
This is another way of stating Ephesians 1:11: “[God] works all things according to the counsel of his will.” God has you where you are for a reason. He has given you success this week for a reason. He has sent hardship into your life this week for a reason.
Verse 5 gives the answer to the question, “What is wisdom?” Wisdom is understanding the fear of the Lord and finding the knowledge of God.
Imagine if someone came to you tonight and said, “I’ll pay off all your bills. I’ll pay off your mortgage. I’ll load up your Roth IRA. I’ll give you money for vacations. I’ll give you 20,000 square feet to live in, and any car you like, or I can make you wise.” What would you say to that person? If you fear the Lord, you’ll take wisdom in a heartbeat.
If no one has ever heard you change your mind about something, then you are either a god or you have mistaken yourself for one.
Third, pray for things that you already know are God’s will. Pray for good motives in your decision making. Pray for an attitude of trust and faith and obedience. Pray for humility and teachability. Pray for His gospel to spread.
sanctified common sense,
You can be just about anything you want as long as you aren’t lazy (Proverb 6:6–11; 26:13–16), and whatever you do you perform to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
so instead of finding purpose in every kind of work, we are madly looking for the one job that will fulfill our purpose in life.
Contentment is saying, “God has me here for a reason, and if He never does anything different, I’ll still serve and praise Him.” Complacency is saying, “Things will never change, so why bother trying?”
God’s will for your life and my life is simpler, harder, and easier than that. Simpler, because there are no secrets we must discover. Harder, because denying ourselves, living for others, and obeying God is more difficult than taking a new job and moving to Fargo. Easier, because as Augustine said, God commands what He wills and grants what He commands.
Obsessing over the future is not how God wants us to live, because showing us the future is not God’s way. His way is to speak to us in the Scriptures and transform us by the renewing of our minds. … We should stop looking for God to reveal the future to us and remove all risk from our life. We should start looking to God—His character and His promises—and thereby
have confidence to take risks for His name’s sake (page
The decision to be in God’s will is … the daily decision we face to seek God’s kingdom or ours, submit to His lordship or not, live according to His rules or our own. The question God cares about most is not “Where should I live?” but “Do I love the Lord with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind, and do I love my neighbor as myself?”
