Kevin DeYoung begins chapter five of 'Just Do Something...' by directing our attention to a section Jesus' sermon on the mount, 6:25-34. In summary he says;"The big idea of this passage could not be any clearer: Jesus does not want us to worry about the future. God knows what we need to live. When He wants us to die, we will die. And as long as He wants us to live, we will live. He will provide us with the food, drink, jobs, housing, with everything that we need to live and glorify Him in this life until He wants us to glorify Him by dying."
In what has been for me, one of the strongest & most frightening statements of the book so far Kevin also declares that "Jesus doesn't treat obsession with the future as a personal quirk, but as evidence of little faith (v.30)." I think that this is huge, i mean which one of us does not struggle at times with wanting to know the outcome of our choices. Yet, Kevin highlights that to worry & get anxious betrays unbelief and shows that we are not simply trusting the God of the universe. The implications here ripple into every aspect of life in which we may feel anxiety.
I think the main idea of this chapter & probably the entire book can be summed up with the words of Jesus: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." When it comes to the will of God for our lives, our main focus should be upon His kingdom & upon His righteousness, not so much on non-moral issues.
Kevin lists 4 areas which God makes clear as being His will for our lives:
"First it is God's will that we live holy, set apart lives" (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
"Second, we are to always rejoice, pray, and give thanks" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
"Third, we are to know God's will so that we can bear fruit and know Him better" (Colossians 1:9)
"Fourth, the will of God is to be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 5:17)
The message here is calling us back to concentrate on holiness & Christ-likeness, a message that needs continually trumpeted to us fickle humans. To know clearly that God is mostly interested in our walk as Christians is something potentially life changing and freeing. It is God's will that you and i seek first His kingdom & His righteousness and let Him take care of the rest.
Next Week
Next week well turn to Chapter 6 'Ordinary Guidance and Supernatural Suprises'.
Your Turn
What did you think of Chapter 5?
