It's about discerning the will of God, or not. This is a progressive post; I'm writing as I read so I can have a place to put great quotes as I come across them, and then share them with you!
'We may have the best of intentions in trying to discern God's will, but we should really stop putting ourselves through the misery of overspiritualizing every decision. Our misdirected piety makes following God more mysterious than it was meant to be.'
My fear is that of all the choices people face today, the one they rarely consider is, 'How can I serve most effectively and fruitfully in the local church?' I wonder if the abundance of opportunities to explore today is doing less to help make well rounded disciples of Christ and more to help Christians avoid long-term responsibility and have less long-term impact.
She didnt mean to have bad theology. But instead of just saying 'Im not interested' or 'I dont like you' or 'Quit stalking me' or something, she went all spiritual on him. 'Ive been praying a lot about you...and the Holy Spirit told me no.'...Poor guy-he got rejected, not only by this sweet girl, but by the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Trinity took a break from pointing people to Jesus to tell this girl not to date my roommate.
...dont assume that the relative ease or difficulty of a new situation is God's way of telling you to do one thing or the other. Remember, God's will for your life is your sanctification, and God tends to use discomfort and trials more than comfort and ease to make us holy.
God does not tell us the future, nor does He expect us to figure it out. When we dont know which way to turn and are faced with tough decisions in life, God doesnt expect us to grope in the dark for some hidden will of direction. He expects us to trust Him and to be wise.
And after you've prayed and studied and sought advice, make a decision and dont hyper-spiritualize it. Do what seems best...That's the way of wisdom...The way of wisdom is a way of life. And when it's a way of life, you are freer than you realize.
Finally, pray less that God would show you who is the right husband or wife and pray more to be the right kind of husband or wife.
In one sense, we trust in the will of God as His sovereign plan for our future. In another sense, we obey the will of God as His good word for our lives.
We're covering this book as a young adult class at church. We've had good discussion which I hope will continue in the weeks to come!
I'd encourage anyone to read this book; if for nothing else to have a thought roll around in your brain :)
Sounds like a good book, along the lines of one I'm reading -- Decision Making and the Will of God by Garry Friessen.
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