God’s Will
The first book I ever read on discernment was The Will of God as a Way of Life: How to Make Every Decision with Peace and Confidence by Jerry Sittser. He said this about God’s will: “If we truly seek God above all, then we will always be doing the will of God, no matter where our particular choices lead us, because seeking God’s kingdom first is God’s will” (p. 39). He wrote this in a chapter appropriately titled, Our Astonishing Freedom.
There is astonishing freedom in what he says. It’s liberating to let go of the unnecessary anxiety surrounding decisions about our future. And I agree with what Sittser writes: “As it turns out, the weightiest choice we make is never between two future options –say, taking a job in California or staying in Iowa—but between two ways of life, one for God, the other against God” (p. 39).
Not long ago, a dear friend of mine was trying to decide between two good possibilities for her future. Most of her friends were assuring her in a Sittser-like way that she really couldn’t make a bad decision – that no matter what, God would bless her in her decision and so she should just make one and go with it.
I asked if this brought her comfort at all. And she said that on one level it did, but it some ways, that kind of encouragement was just frustrating and unhelpful. The fact remained: she still had a weighty decision to make.
Enter: Dallas Willard and his book, Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God. He writes, “If you wish to know what God would have you do, it is no help at all to be told that whatever comes is his will. For you are, precisely, in the position of having to decide in some measure what is to come. Does it mean that whatever you do will be God’s will? I certainly hope not” (p. 61).
Who do you agree with? What kind of commentary on God’s will has been helpful to you in your decision making?
(Okay, okay, I guess I can go first for a change… : ) )
Well, it was timely for our friend Dallas to “enter” in person at the recent Symposium, and to offer some rich food for thought…I appreciated how his plenary comments about prayer connected with the topic above…I’m thinking of the time when he commented along the lines of — sure, God will hear your prayer regardless of your physical posture, even when you’re praying while standing on your head. The question is — what posture will be most beneficial for the human pray-er? In a similar way, many opportunities in life are wide-open and divinely blessing-worthy…but what will be most beneficial for the human discerner?
On another level (and to see the profound importance of discernment, and its far-reaching potential impacts), an even bigger question could be, What will be beneficial for the discerner’s world? This has been a key question for me, since I spent a number of post-undergrad years in the marketplace struggling to discern if I should go for an MBA, an MCS or an MDiv. This issue went to the heart of my understanding of vocation…was my task to discern my vocation by mulling over God’s (equally-valid) _suggestions_ or was I truly discerning God’s _call_? I concluded that my choices, though they involved discerning what was beneficial for me, also needed to involve discerning which path would have the most beneficial impact within, and on behalf of, God’s kingdom. Thanks to helpful books (e.g. by former Regent College guy Gordon T. Smith…see http://www.allbookstores.com/author/Gordon_T_Smith.html) and trustworthy travelling companions along my journey, I noticed that the deepest needs within church-ministry were connected to serving with my deepest gladness, and that I could connect much more effectively with people in church-ministry than in marketplace-ministry.
To see how important the stakes are for individuals and their world (even _the_ world), we only need to remember a discernment-situation faced by John Newton and William Wilberforce (I heard about this in a Christianity Today interview with a biographer of Newton’s named Jonathan Aitken):
“[CT question:] How would you sum up Newton’s legacy? [Aitken’s answer:] I seek to alert readers to how colorful, how historically important, how politically effective, and how deeply spiritual a man Newton was. He understood perfectly about getting hold of Wilberforce and mentoring him spiritually.
“The story goes that Wilberforce came to see Newton to say, ‘Mr. Newton, I think I want to go into the church.’ Newton said, ‘No, no, Mr. Wilberforce, stay where you are and serve God in Parliament.’
“If Newton had gone the other way, I think we would probably not have heard of Wilberforce and the abolition of the slave trade. Wilberforce would have been a very fine Church of England vicar, but he wouldn’t have had worldwide impact as an abolitionist.
“It’s often said there would have been no abolition of the slave trade without William Wilberforce, but it’s absolutely fair to say there would have been no spiritually motivated William Wilberforce as a determined campaigner if it hadn’t been for the friendship and mentoring of John Newton.”
(Source: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/october/45.105.html?start=1)
God probably would have blessed Wilberforce as either abolitionist OR vicar, but I think the world was more blessed with him as abolitionist. So, for friends trying to decide between two (or more) good possibilities for his/her future, I would say Sittser is on the right track generally—there are many equally valid options in the wideness of kingdom service. However, on the face of it, it seems that his approach dilutes, almost jettisons, the concept of call and the role of mentors to help discern potential, specific callings.
As we’ve discussed elsewhere on this fine blog, wisdom means following a thoughtfully systematic and relational approach to discerning one’s most beneficial path (for self and others) with an intent of maximizing impact within and on behalf of God’s kingdom. The result, I believe, is a best-of-both worlds approach so aptly described by Buechner, when he said that the place we are called to work should be the place where our deepest gladness meets the world’s deepest need.
Okay. So, I’m finally getting around to putting my two cents in on this “fine blog” (as Doug calls it) now that midterms and papers are done…at least for now…
Discernment…I have come to love this word because I think that there’s a sense of peace that only God can bring when you enter into his will for your life, on the other hand I cringe because discerning is HARD WORK! (kudos to Heidi for being a DISCERNMENT pastor!) It involves time and consciously putting aside your own agenda so that God can reveal to you his will.
I have to say that I have my foot in both camps when it comes to discernment. While I agree with Sittser that when we seek God’s kingdom first we do God’s will, we still need to know what seeking God’s kingdom first looks like practically. For some seeking God’s kingdom first could mean being a pastor, and for another it could mean being a truck driver. We still need to discern in our lives what God wants for us as individuals in the bigger scheme of seeking his kingdom.
When I was struggling with my calling into ministry I brought up this idea to my mentor and pastor. She said something that will always stick with me. She agreed with what Sittser was saying about how if you’re seeking God’s kingdom in whatever you do in life, it will be GOOD! BUT, on the other hand, we were created with certain gifts and abilities and the specific plan that God has for us is what’s BEST. When it comes to God’s will for our life, it’s not a matter of choosing between what is good and what is bad, it’s a matter of choosing between what is good and what is best. And as far as I’m concerned, I’d love to do what’s best for my life and that’s why I think discerning your individual call is so crucial!
I think that in our society we have become so caught up with pluralism…there are multiple routes to achieve an end. But what if in igornance we pursue a route that God never wanted for us? Will we be blessed? Maybe. But I believe that there’s even bigger blessings in seeking God out for what he wants for us individually! I think that God can use you even if you are outside of his will because he’s SO much bigger than our will, but he also promises that he rewards obedience.
I could go on, but I think I’ll leave it at that!
When I read this, and asked God, “Is there any truth in the first quote” He responded with asking, “What about Abraham? Surely he didn’t just go with what he wanted to do, but instead what I told him to do.”
Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Read your bible, not books written by men on what they think of the bible. Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding” Don’t put your trust in men, but in the Lord.
The Center of the Bible Even if you are not religious, you should read this. It is very interesting. What is the shortest chapter in the Bible? Answer - Psalms 117 What is the longest chapter in the Bible? Answer - Psalms 119 Which chapter is in the center of the Bible? Answer - Psalms 118 Fact: There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118 Fact: There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118 Add these numbers up and you get 1188 What is the center verse in the Bible? Answer - Psalms 118:8 Does this verse say something significant about God’s perfect will for our lives?
The next time someone says they would like to find God’s perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the center of His will, just send them to the center of His Word! Psalms 118:8 (NKJV) “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”
Now isn’t that odd how this worked out (or was God in the center of it)?