Blog post by John Ortberg:
I was at commencement at a Christian college this weekend, and it reminded me of the question millions of young people are asking this time of year.
We never grow out of that question: Who is operating out of a wisdom surplus?
But the vast majority of people start at the wrong place.
When I finished college, I desperately wanted to know what I should do next. Find a job? Go to grad school? Where? In what field?
I prayed until I was exhausted (and God was probably a little tired of it too). I was ready to do whatever. Just send me a postcard. Put it in sky writing. But I would have gotten more clarity with a Magic 8 ball.
For a good reason.
Which I did not understand for many years. And its this:
God’s main purpose for you is not what you do. Its who you become.
If I always told my kids what do to–wear these clothes, take this job, marry this person–they might do what I say. Their circumstances might even turn out OK.
But they would not grow into excellent persons.
To grow into an excellent person, you have to make choices,
exercise judgment, take responsibility, and learn.
There is no short-cut for this.
So, if I want my children to become excellent people–my will for their life will often be: “You choose.”
God knew that I would grow if I had to make choices in ways I would never grow if I got a heavenly postcard.
“God’s will” is not a way of escaping the anxiety and responsbility of making decisions.
I had a friend–a really bright guy and great New Testament scholar–who was convinced it was God’s will for him to marry the girl he wanted to marry because a certain song played at a certain moment on a certain radio station.
It wasn’t God’s will. It was just a Barry Manilow marathon.
Sometimes a Barry Manilow marathon is just a Barry Manilow marathon.
How do I know God’s will for my life?
–Live this day in an open, repentant spirit.
–Understand that living in God’s will often means I must make decisions.
–Pray constantly, regularly asking for wisdom in small moments, without placing pressure on God to give any particular kind of response.
–”Let your life speak”: Parker Palmer wrote a wonderful book by this title from an old Quaker saying; if you look at the trajectory of your life with simplicity and openess certain patterns will emerge that will help you understand your shape and gifts and longings
–Have wise, godly people speak into your life with love and truth
–Be willing to make mistakes and learn from them quicker rather than slower
–Have a mind immersed with great thoughts from Scripture
–Practice making decisions and learning from them all day long
–Live in freedom and joy. Trust God that He can guide you into His will without your obsessing over it.
I was at commencement at a Christian college this weekend, and it reminded me of the question millions of young people are asking this time of year.
We never grow out of that question: Who is operating out of a wisdom surplus?
But the vast majority of people start at the wrong place.
When I finished college, I desperately wanted to know what I should do next. Find a job? Go to grad school? Where? In what field?
I prayed until I was exhausted (and God was probably a little tired of it too). I was ready to do whatever. Just send me a postcard. Put it in sky writing. But I would have gotten more clarity with a Magic 8 ball.
For a good reason.
Which I did not understand for many years. And its this:
God’s main purpose for you is not what you do. Its who you become.
If I always told my kids what do to–wear these clothes, take this job, marry this person–they might do what I say. Their circumstances might even turn out OK.
But they would not grow into excellent persons.
To grow into an excellent person, you have to make choices,
exercise judgment, take responsibility, and learn.
There is no short-cut for this.
So, if I want my children to become excellent people–my will for their life will often be: “You choose.”
God knew that I would grow if I had to make choices in ways I would never grow if I got a heavenly postcard.
“God’s will” is not a way of escaping the anxiety and responsbility of making decisions.
I had a friend–a really bright guy and great New Testament scholar–who was convinced it was God’s will for him to marry the girl he wanted to marry because a certain song played at a certain moment on a certain radio station.
It wasn’t God’s will. It was just a Barry Manilow marathon.
Sometimes a Barry Manilow marathon is just a Barry Manilow marathon.
How do I know God’s will for my life?
–Live this day in an open, repentant spirit.
–Understand that living in God’s will often means I must make decisions.
–Pray constantly, regularly asking for wisdom in small moments, without placing pressure on God to give any particular kind of response.
–”Let your life speak”: Parker Palmer wrote a wonderful book by this title from an old Quaker saying; if you look at the trajectory of your life with simplicity and openess certain patterns will emerge that will help you understand your shape and gifts and longings
–Have wise, godly people speak into your life with love and truth
–Be willing to make mistakes and learn from them quicker rather than slower
–Have a mind immersed with great thoughts from Scripture
–Practice making decisions and learning from them all day long
–Live in freedom and joy. Trust God that He can guide you into His will without your obsessing over it.
FROM THE JESUS OF SUBURBIA, BY MIKE ERRE - THE SECTION ON “A WORD ABOUT GOD’S WILL, PG. 30-33
“Next to the classic question ‘How far can I go with someone of the opposite sex before marriage?’ questions about knowing the will of God are the most common I receive (and have asked, myself). It seems there are many of us who have decided to take hold of god’s kingdom forcefully and do something great for his name, only to be paralyzed by the idea that we step outside God’s will if we are not careful. Many passionate, gifted followers of Jesus don’t do much because they are waiting for the planets to align or for God to write something on the wall!
Much of the debate around God’s will makes it a bigger deal than do the Scriptures. The scriptural teaching on the will of God that has set me free is this: God will guide those who hearts are open to follow. It is that simple. Be faithful in what God calls you to today, and he will lead you tomorrow. God is more committed to having you walk in his will than you are. If you have a heart that is passionately trying to do God’s will, he will lead you.
Pharaohs stood against God and failed; Nazis and communists have tried to stamp out God’s movement and succeeded only in spreading it farther; Caesars and Herods have shaken their fists at God, but no one has ever been able to stop the purposes of God in human history. Why, then, if we believe God to be that powerful, do we think we can so easily miss doing his will? God is so good, so sovereign, and so caring that he will reveal his will to us if our hearts are open. There are no magic formulas to this, no seven-step lists to memorize, no guaranteed incantations. There is just the simple trust that God will lead us where he wants to go and we cannot miss it if we simply keep our eyes open. If anyone was ‘in good’ with God, it was the apostle Paul. Paul wrote over half of the New Testament and founded countless churches. You would think he would know the secret of finding and following God’s will. Acts 16 records for us an amusing story:
‘Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.’ (vv. 6-10)
This is almost comical. Paul and his friends are stopped by God two different times from going to the wrong place. Paul evidently had no idea where to go; he just knew he was supposed to go somewhere. He had enough faith that God would redirect him if he were headed in the wrong direction. God finally had to speak so simply to Paul in a dream that there was no possible way he could misunderstand. God simply would not let Paul go elsewhere.
We know enough about God’s will from Scriptures to be busy enough. Today I am called to be a faithful husband, a loving father, a diligent pastor, a courageous witness, a prayerful worshiper, a law-abiding citizen, and an appreciative son. That is plenty. I have no idea where I will be five years from now, and I have ceased caring. I am going to be faithful in what God has called me to do today, knowing that tomorrow he will direct me.
If you passionately commit yourself to living out his purposes and advancing his kingdom, then God will make sure you live in his will. Trust him that if you are not going in the right direction, he will redirect you. But, I urge you, if you are paralyzed by the idea of the will of God, do something. Doing anything God honoring is far better than doing nothing at all. And you’ll be amazed at what God does when you step out in obedience to what you already know to do.
There have been times when I have received very specific guidance on where to go or what to do (or even what to say). It has been my observation that God’s will for us rarely makes sense to us looking forward, but it almost always makes sense in retrospect. God has led me to move across the country to marry a woman who ended up breaking my heart. He did this to help make me ready for the one he had for me. He led me out of the business world because I was a slave to money. He has led me to churches at which I would never have imagined working, to do things I never thought I was capable of doing. All the while he was inviting me deeper and deeper into his revolution, asking me to hold onto him with greater intensity and purpose. As C.S. Lewis has said, Jesus isn’t safe, but he is good."
No comments:
Post a Comment