News Flash: God Won’t Tell You Everything
What is the process that you use to go about finding the will of God when you have to make important decisions? For some, they talk to friends, read the Bible, pray and ask God to speak to them, put out a fleece and then after all of that if they feel God speaking to them, they make their decision. This is the common practice.
When it comes to making important decisions in life, it is easy to see why people want to do what God wants them to do. There is nothing wrong with that at all. However, I think there is a better approach.
Freedom to Choose
Decisions can be boiled down to two different categories: (1) left or right or (2) right or wrong. The Bible is concerned with right or wrong not left or right. Therefore Scripture contains the moral will of God. Since the moral will of God expresses His character, touches every aspect of life, is fully revealed in the Bible and is able to equip believers for every good work, we can conclude that the Bible is sufficient for all matters of life. This is expressed in 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
It is God’s will that we be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4), sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3), submissive (1 Peter 2:13-15), Spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:17-18), and that we suffer (1 Peter 4:19). As long as these aspects are true in your life, you are free to choose whatever in your decisions as long as they do not involve anything directly forbidden in Scripture.
This may sound a bit surprising since we are so accustomed to asking God for both the minor and major details of life (should I date now or later after I graduate, or should I buy a car or a house). When going to a swimming pool it is not uncommon to find a sign of posted regulations for swimming. While these restrictions are posted for our safety, each swimmer rightly assumes that they are free to do anything not posted on that list. They don’t go ask the life guard if they can do back strokes in the pool or if they can dive off the diving board. They are free to do whatever is not forbidden on the list of posted regulations. However, although they have some freedom within the posted restrictions, some things may not be wise to do: For example, (1) it may not be wise to urinate in the pool, and (2) it may not be wise to drink the water in the pool especially if someone does. So although they have freedom within the restrictions, some non restricted freedoms may not be wise.
The Freezer
Too many Christians freeze when they do not know what God wants them to do. When facing decisions, they want God to tell them everything they need to do. Does God need to tell you what to do? Will God tell you what to do? For right or wrong decisions he has made it very clear in Scripture. For right or left decisions, God is under no obligation to you what to do. Most likely, he won’t. According to King Solomon,
Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good. (Ecclesiastes 11:1-2,6 NASB95).
According to Solomon, there are some things you cannot know about what God is doing on the earth. So he says, regardless of whether or not you know, you still have to be bold and act. When God has already told you your duty (Matthew 28:19-20), there is no need for him to tell you your fortune. These words by Tommy Nelson are helpful,
Don’t turn everything into a mystical decision about what you “feel” God wants you to do. If it’s a right or left decision, pray about it and then boldly follow your heart.
God’s moral will is revealed in Scripture, but his sovereign will is not. There are many things you and I will never know. And what Solomon is trying to get us to understand is that God is not obligated to tell us which decision we need to make. And again, most likely, he won’t.
I will close with some more wisdom from Tommy Nelson,
The purpose of the sovereignty of God is not to cause you to lean on a shovel, praying for a hole. You know what I‘m saying? You have to venture out boldly and let the sovereignty of God be your comfort, not your excuse. Try lots of different things. You never know which ones God will choose to bless. Give yourself every chance to succeed. Are you single and want to be married? I’ll tell you what you need to do. Trust the sovereignty of God and brush your teeth. Pray, hang out where the godly people are, and let God be God. Do what you have to do and then trust God’s sovereignty.
So I am interested in hearing your thoughts in the comment section below. Do you think God speaks to us in the decision making process? Is this your approach or do you just make the decision and trust the results to God?
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Does God Still Speak Today?
Do you think God still speaks today? I knew a girl in college who told me that God spoke to her through her radio. I thought that was pretty odd but I did not completely blow it off as unreasonable. I have a post that deals with this topic coming up pretty soon and so I thought I’d ask you to get your opinion. Your comments will help me think through this topic some more and so they are pretty important to me. Do you think God still speaks today? If so, explain how he has spoken to you? [Leave a comment]
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Being Pro-Life Under a Pro-Choice President
Today Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. John Piper posted on his blog an excerpt from a sermon he preached in 1993 just before Clinton was to be sworn in as president. The content is relevant for us today. I have included it below. You can get the full sermon here:
The text was 1 Peter 2:17, “Honor the king.” I closed with eight ways to honor a pro-choice president. The seventh was this:
We will honor you by expecting from you straightforward answers to straightforward questions. We would not expect this from a con-man, but we do expect it from an honorable man.
For example,
- Are you willing to explain why a baby’s right not to be killed is less important than a woman’s right not to be pregnant?
- Or are you willing to explain why most cities have laws forbidding cruelty to animals, but you oppose laws forbidding cruelty to human fetuses? Are they not at least living animals?
- Or are you willing to explain why government is unwilling to take away the so-called right to abortion on demand even though it harms the unborn child; yet government is increasingly willing to take away the right to smoke, precisely because it harms innocent non-smokers, killing 3,000 non-smokers a year from cancer and as many as 40,000 non-smokers a year from other diseases?
- And if you say that everything hangs on whether the fetus is a human child, are you willing to go before national television in the oval office and defend your support for the "Freedom of Choice Act" by holding in your hand a 21 week old fetus and explaining why this little one does not have the fundamental, moral, and constitutional right to life? Are you willing to say to parents in this church who lost a child at that age and held him in their hands, this being in your hands is not and was not a child with any rights of its own under God or under law?
Perhaps you have good answers to each of these questions. We will honor you by expecting you to defend your position forthrightly in the public eye.
You have immense power as President of the United States. To wield it against the protection of the unborn without giving a public accounting in view of moral and scientific reality would be dishonorable. We will honor you by expecting better.
God’s Will – An Example
In part one I talked about how God intends for every Christian to lead people to worship him. This is the fulfillment of the Great Commission that Jesus commands in Matthew 28:19-20. So whenever we are wondering what God’s will is for our lives, we know that we are to be about the Great Commission. But the real question many have is what is their specific role? That is a fair question. Everyone (hopefully) wants to feel like they are making a difference for the Kingdom.
However, regardless of whether or not we know what our role is specifically, the command is clear: find out what God is doing and get involved.
Do you like working with kids but don’t know if that should be with small children at a daycare or as a volunteer at a church? Pick one, and it will become clear where you need to be. In case you think I am crazy to suggest this, consider the following story from Genesis 11:31—12:7.
Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there. The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran. (Genesis 11:31-32 NASB95)
Terah, Abraham’s dad, decided it was time to move his family. He set out for the land of Canaan, but never quite made it. Instead he settled for Haran and died there. I often wonder how many people set out for one goal but settle for something far less than what they originally planned in the first place? Some people set out for Harvard and settle for The University of Texas (ouch!). Or some set out for a godly mate who is the best match for them but settle for the person who accepts them the fastest. Many people settle for far less than what God gave them.
It is interesting to note that the name Terah means “delay or road block.” Typically names in the Bible reflect character. Apparently it was in his nature to settle. You know someone like that? No matter what it is they set out for, they always settle for less? It’s like it is in their nature. Are you like that?
No Matter What, Go
In Genesis 12:1 God appears to Abraham and tells him that he wants him to leave Haran.
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; (Genesis 12:1 NASB95)
Besides the fact that God spoke to Abraham (which, contrary to popular belief, was not common in ancient times) what is interesting is the fact that he does not tell Abraham where to go. He tells Abraham to leave his relatives (thereby losing his relational security), and his father’s house (thereby losing his inheritance). Where is he supposed to go? The only instruction God gave him was, “Go!”
Notice what happens in verse 4:
So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (Genesis 12:4 NASB95)
Abraham, without knowing where he was going, does exactly as God tells him and leaves. The moral of this story is this: even if the vision is not clear, we still need to go. As has been shown, God has told every Christian what they need to do. But what many do is they wait for a crystal clear signal, they wait for the entire picture to be absolutely clear before they make their first move. But the reality is that God expects us to be obedient and make the first move before he makes his mission clear.
Abraham had no idea where to go so I suppose he set out for the only place he knew of, Canaan. Recall, this was the place his dad was supposed to go but never made it. I do not think he ever intended to stay in Canaan, because the text seems to suggest that he was actually trying to pass through (Genesis 12:6). It was not until he got there, that God made it clear that Canaan was the land he was going to give him (Genesis 12:7).
So instead of waiting for God to make it all clear up front, we need to be obedient to the command of the Great Commission and move forward. The first move is on us, not God. So if you are confused about what it is you are supposed to do, start by doing what you are passionate about and then God will respond.
It’s About Others
There is one other thing we need to note about this passage. In Genesis 12:2-3 God pretty much makes it clear that the reason why he wants Abraham to take this step of faith has nothing to do with Abraham receiving any benefits but everything to do with others receiving benefits (i.e. blessings). The point is that our mission is not about us. It’s about others. Remember Jesus statement in Matthew 22:37-38 when he said that we are to love God and others? Notice he said nothing about us being loved. Why, because life as a Christian is more about God and others than it is about us.
If Abraham does not take this risk, if he does not make the first move, there is no nation of Israel and people whose number is so great that it cannot be counted will not benefit from his decision. I wonder how many people stand to benefit from your willingness to take the risk even if the vision is not clear, and make the first move to fulfill the Great Commission?
