Guest Post by Nathan McCavery
Decisions. We all have to make them everyday – some important, most trivial. As followers of Christ, we’re desperate to make sure every decision is pleasing to God and might be part of His will for our lives.
One of the subtle dangers of this can be that we overcomplicate, overthink and overanalyse, agonising over every single decision. Wrestling to try and decipher where God would have us go and what He would have us do often leaves us confused, frustrated and spiritually drained. “If only God would show us what He wants us to do and we’ll do it in an instant” we think.
How quickly we forget and become complacent with the amazing miracle that God has revealed Himself to us in the person of His Son, and in His Word He’s given us all that we need as a guide for life! (2 Peter 1:3)
Kevin DeYoung in his book Just Do Something spells out God’s will for our lives.
1. God’s will is that we live holy, set-apart lives: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
2. We are to always rejoice, pray and give thanks: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
3. We are to know God’s will so we can bear fruit and know Him better. “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9)
4. The will of God is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is…be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:17-18)
God’s will isn’t that we struggle with every decision, becoming anxious, fretting for fear of choosing the wrong path and mistaking a lack of activity for piety. Paul tells us that “[God] works all things to the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11) Jesus Himself tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33)
DeYoung closes his book with the following paragraph:
So the end of the matter is this: Live for God. Obey the Scriptures. Think of others before yourself. Be holy. Love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like, with whomever you like, wherever you like, and you’ll be walking in the will of God.
If we understand this, it can only have a liberating, peace-giving effect on us. What an encouragement to know that provided we live as the Bible tells us to, we are free to do as we please. So let’s make some bold decisions with confidence that we are walking in God’s will, the way of wisdom, and let’s attempt great things for God’s glory.