Write a book on finding God’s will and the church will beat a path to your door. We all know the struggle: choosing a job, a church, a spouse - if only God would show us His plans so we never make a misstep! Unintentionally, however, fear of missteps can paralyze us from choosing at all. Kevin DeYoung’s book Just Do Something isn’t the average “will of God” type. Instead, he points out the error of Christian divining and gives a Biblical basis for trusting God, then making a decision.
What do we really mean by “God’s will”? There are actually three different meanings. DeYoung contends that God has a will of decree (i.e. He is sovereign over what will happen) and that God shadows us his will of desire (through His Word), but that God does not have a will of direction which we must determine. “God does have a specific plan for our lives, but it is not one that he expects us to figure out before we make a decision” (22).
“Our fascination with the will of God often betrays our lack of trust in God’s promises and provision” (45). Jesus tells us in Matthew that, instead of worrying about material things, we ought to seek the Kingdom of God. God’s will is always that we become more Christ-like, more sanctified. The decision is not “between Memphis or Fargo . . . ; it’s the daily decision we face to seek God’s kingdom or ours” (55). We should not ask which option is God’s will of direction, but which choice will help us serve God better, become more sanctified, and bring God the most glory.
DeYoung suggests that instead of hanging our decisions on a sign, we ought to seek a better way – wisdom (84). The problem with fleeces, open doors, gut feelings, etc. is that they are subjective. Yes, God can send an open door, but He may also want us to push on a closed one. Our gut feelings can help us, but then again, our hearts are fickle. In contrast, wisdom means searching Scripture, seeking advice, praying for humility. Wisdom means seeking the Kingdom of God, then deciding.
Just Do Something is both freeing and challenging. Freeing, because it takes away our fear of misstep. Challenging, because it requires us to trust God and then act. What sets DeYoung’s book apart is not that he has discovered some new method, but that he corrects our steps back to the well-worn path of Scripture. Instead of seeking the plan, he challenges us to seek the Planner, and then take the next step.