Here we are at Chapter 4 of 'Just Do Something...' by Kevin DeYoung, and there's alot in this chapter. The chapter opens with quite a strong view of how we approach the will of God concerning 'non-moral' issues such as where to go to school, where to live, what career to pursue etc. . .
I think Kevin is absolutely right when he states that "these are not the most important issues in God's book. The most important issues for God are moral purity, theological fidelity, compassion, joy, our witness, faithfulness, hospitality, love, worship and faith. . .
. . .The problem is that we tend to focus most of our attention on everything else. We obsess over the things God has not mentioned and may never mention, while, by contrast, we spend little time on all the things God has already revealed to us in the Bible" (pg44-45).
When we approach the topic of God's Will our primary thoughts do tend to run toward who to marry, jobs, where to live etc... Yet scripture has revealed so many areas in which it says 'This is the will of God...' and then tells us that it is our sanctification, being Spirit-filled, our submission etc (i'd encourage a word study on this).
2nd Kevin asks if we have a 'sneaky God' who has a will for our lives yet sneakily hides it from us even though He holds us accountable to walk in it. As Kevin says there are many things that God does not reveal to us, 'But He is not trying to confuse us or hide truth.'
Kevin's 3rd point is that we tend to have a preoccupation with the future and treat 'God's will' much like many people treat horoscopes. In fact on this issue Kevin goes on to say that "Our fascination with the will of God often betrays our lack of trust in God's promises and provision."
I had to sit and think alot about this, but i think Kevin is right; we want to know in advance, that the future is going to be alright because we aren't comfortable with simply trusting God's sovereignty. "Not willing to take Him at His word that He will be with us; we want Him to show us the end from the beginning and prove to us that He can be trusted."
Next Kevin argues that we often use God's will as an excuse to "avoid personal responsibility, accountability, and initiative." At the beginning of this section on page 48 he gives an illustration, one that i myself have heard a pastor using to his flock before moving on. We tend to shift the responsibility over to God rather than face any uncomfort that may result of it. What do you think about this?
Finally Kevin says that the 'conventional approach enslaves us in the chains of hopeless subjectives. . . . . .we never take risks because we never feel peace about them. Or we second guess our decisions because we feel uneasy about them.'
Kevin argues that although Christ died to give us freedom from the law (Galatians 5:1) we have a tendency to turn the will of God into another law.
On page 45 Kevin mentions 1 Corinthians 10:31. Those who know me know that this verse has featured alot in my life, and i guess in drawing to a close of my thoughts over this chapter i'm drawn back to it. "Whether you eat or whether you drink, do everything to the glory of God." My guess is that if we carried that into our decision making it would help alot. It would quickly sift out sinful options, leaving us free to decide in which area, with whom and how to glorify God in every aspect of life.
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Your Turn
Please share your thoughts on the issues raised in this chapter. It has been a long week for me & to be honest i feel that i didn't get the time at this that it/you deserve, for this i apologise. But i look forward to reading your views on it.
Next Week
Next week we'll turn to chapter '5 A Better Way' (i'm looking forward to this chapter).
