The other day I was speaking to a young guy who is currently unemployed. He wants to get a job, and has been told about a particular one he should apply for. But he wasn’t sure if he should.
“I’m just not sure it’s what I should do with my life,” he said.
I get where he’s coming from. When you’re looking for a job, particularly if you’re in the under 35 crowd (which I’m almost not anymore), the goal seems to be looking for your “calling,” that thing you’ve been uniquely made to do. And this causes a great deal of handwringing, particularly among young Christians.
After all, what if we take a job that’s not God’s will for us?
(Cue the Spirit keys. Wait, no…)
Discovering God’s will is one of those topics that Christians (at least, North American ones) never seem to tire of. We want to know if what we’re doing is what God wants for us, his “best” for us, if you will. There are tons of books on the subject (only a couple that are worth reading in my opinion, though), lots of sermons and blog posts. And, honestly, if you read most of them, you’d think there was some sort of big secret—that God was leaving his will for our lives shrouded in mystery.
A mystery you must solve in order to have your best life now™.
Or something.
But God has not left us to flounder on this, as if we were to wander about aimlessly with no hope of finding an answer. But he’s also not provided an answer that will satisfy some to the degree they’d like.
Instead, God directs us to his word, where he’s pretty clear-cut about no less than five things that are his will for our lives, which are helpfully detailed in John MacArthur’s book, Found: God’s Will and Kevin DeYoung’s Just Do Something:
1. God’s will is for us to be saved. God is “not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (1 Peter 3:9). Simply, he wants us to be Christians, to know and worship Jesus.
2. God’s will is for us to live Spirit-filled lives. Our lives will be guided by the Holy Spirit as we are careful to study and listen to God’s Word and persist in prayer (see Acts 4:8, 13:9; Eph 5:18).
3. God’s will is for us to be sanctified. God’s will for our lives is that we grow holiness, putting sin to death and growing in Christlike character (Romans 6:19; 1 Thessalonians 4:3).
4. God’s will is for us to be submissive. God’s will is that we obey the authorities he has placed over us, whether godly or ungodly. This is crucial to our witness as Christians in the world. The only time when we may disobey is when those authorities command us to do what God forbids, or to not do what God commands (see Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13-25; Acts 4:19).
5. God’s will is for us to suffer for the sake of Christ. God’s will for our lives is that as we follow Christ in this world we will suffer for Christ. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you,” said Jesus in John 15:18.
There’s nothing about secret whispers, visions or any of that stuff. There’s not even anything about looking at your passions and strengths as a person. Just believe in Jesus, live a Spirit-filled life, pursue holiness, obey God’s Word and the earthly authorities over us, and embrace the suffering that comes with being a Christian.
That, friends, is the totality of God’s revealed will for our lives.
It seems God is more concerned with revealing his intentions for our character and our heart’s condition than declaring a particular vocation. This isn’t to say that God doesn’t care about such things—after all, he has ordered every detail of our lives, appointing the time and place in which we live. God is in absolute control over the events of our lives—but he doesn’t seem to be particularly interested in acting like someone who spoils your favorite TV show on Twitter.
So instead of spending a great deal of time trying to figure out the details of God’s secret will, maybe we need to spend more time considering what he already has revealed.
Or am I crazy?
I’m 57 and this isn’t what I was taught 30 years ago in Bible College and Seminary. I struggled with it. I tried to understand “Decision Making and the Will of God” by Friesen but couldn’t find peace. Thanks to the Lord, He slowly led me, through struggles and failures and years of drawing me to it, to the truth which is exactly what you have posted. I wonder if Americans (or any people for that matter) can come to these truths apart from the path I took. I’m thankful that there ARE younger men, today, who have an understanding of these things and are sharing them with everyone else.
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No, you’re not crazy. In fact, you could have made the point even more strongly than you did.
My early days as a Christian were spent just as you described above – praying, seeking, hoping to find God’s will for my life. Yet when someone taught me how to use Strong’s concordance and I looked up all the references to the will of God, I realized the Scripture spoke of the subject in an entirely different way than I had been thinking about it.
So much of the time we are ignoring God’s will even as we think we are seeking it. This process drains much Christian energy. Very much.
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If God told us these things, he wouldn’t need to give us wisdom.
Jeff
Bingo
You’re definitely not crazy. I think 21st century American Christians tend to navel gaze way too much in this arena largely because we have so many options available to us. “Finding God’s will for my life” vocationally tends not to be an issue for Christians in third world countries where you pretty much HAVE to hunt, gather, and farm to live, or in countries where the government decides your vocation for you.
I think Augustine(?) was on the right track when he said, “Love God and do what you want.” We find ourselves loving God when we are walking in the things you’ve listed in this post. Beyond that, God does lead us to “do what we want” in certain ways, like sending circumstances our way that guide us to one job instead of another. Additionally, He has wired all of us in certain ways that lead us towards or away from certain vocations. All you have to do is watch the audition phase of American Idol for proof of that one :0)
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You mean I don’t have to find an open door then lay out a fleece until I get a peace about it? Great post.
Thankfully no 🙂