Misguided Approaches to Knowing God’s Will

Knowing God’s Will

Introduction

Welcome to our special Abundant Life Newsletter Series entitled “What is God’s Will For My Life?” Part 1 is entitled: Some Misguided Approaches to Knowing God’s Will.

Generally, when we speak of knowing God’s will, we want to ensure that our lives reflect divine priorities as do our choices about schooling, career, where we live, a spouse or children.

The more somber side of knowing God’s will is the fear of making a mistake and suffering the consequences of a bad decision.

But I would like to argue that this perspective has very little to do with how “God’s will for my life” is portrayed in the Scriptures.

Before tackling the right approach to this subject, I thought it would be fruitful to carefully lay out a traditional, but misguided perspective on this important issue.

God’s Will For My Life Means Crawling Through A Maze

A traditional approach to knowing God’s will involves a very anxious race through the maze of life. From this perspective, if God’s will is to be fulfilled in my life, I must pass through a series of choices, each one leading me closer to a particular destination. Usually, that destination is the answer to a big decision or to that perfect career or mate I have been seeking.

Thus, we earnestly pray for God to give us a sign of his approval or we place fleeces before God so that we can be sure we are hearing his voice. We want God to reveal the next turn in the maze and we may in fact be convinced that God never shows us more than a few steps because he wants us to “live by faith” or he doesn’t want us to get ahead of ourselves.

I can think of no better way to quench the abundant life we are meant to have than this perspective on God’s will.

God’s Will For My Life Means I Can’t Make a Wrong Choice

A traditional approach to God’s will also means that if I make a wrong choice, I will forfeit God’s best for me or I will have to pay for bad choices.

What happens if I married Sarah / Jim but that wasn’t really God’s will for my life? Am I now stuck in second class (in life and in marriage) for the remainder of my earthly time? And what of poor Sarah / Jim, who pledged his / her heart to me thinking I was THE ONE?

Or what if I I took that job in Florida or enrolled in that art school I really wanted to attend in Rhode Island but that wasn’t really God’s will for my life either? Now I’m stuck in the sweltering summer, I’m not happy, but I’ve convinced myself that I must have missed the divine turn-off.

That’s probably why I’m still single because had I stayed put in Louisville, I would have met Sarah / Jim at my favorite ice cream parlor. I blew it by chasing my own will instead of God’s and now I’m getting my just desserts (instead of having dessert with my fiancee!)

I can think of no better way to quench the abundant life we are meant to have than this perspective on God’s will.

God’s Will For My Life Means I Should Never Trust My Own Feelings

The heart is wicked above all things, who can trust it?

That verse is one of the terrible legacies of the traditional approaches to God’s will for my life. It assumes that the human condition is extremely fickle, reckless and selfish and is not to be trusted under any condition.

But what is the point of having the mind of Christ, of walking by the Spirit, of God having written his law on my heart, if I have to worry about living as a split personality?

Here’s a heretical thought! What if all of those desires you have, of writing a book or starting a blog, of changing careers, moving to the Midwest or to another church, starting a family, working in a cross-cultural context or at a non-profit, going to seminary or to art school…what if all of those desires were placed there by God himself?

Oh, but that just means I want God to write me a blank check to do what I want. (Here’s a hint for the next post. God isn’t as concerned with your future, or who your spouse is, or what your career is or where you live is as much as he is concerned about your love for him, your love for others and your sanctification.)

I can think of no better way to quench the abundant life we are meant to have than to live deeply distrustful of yourself, your motivations, dreams and desires.

Conclusion

I could list 10 more ways that a traditional approach to God’s will is simply misguided. For now, I leave you with these three big ones: God’s will for my life is not a maze, it is not being afraid to make wrong choices and it is not about living in self-doubt about my true intentions.

We were made for much more than this type of anxious life.

In our next posts, we’ll tackle just what the Scriptures have to say on this whole notion of “God’s will” and then begin to lay out a healthier approach to the topic as a whole.

In the meantime, all of God’s abundant blessings to you.