What should Christians think about pursuing God’s will?
What should Christians think about pursuing (or following) God's will?
During my time in church, I have seen and heard a lot of people agonizing over decisions because they wanted to make sure they were appropriately listening for God's voice and responding to his call. Should I stay where I am, in the job I'm in, or should I pick up and move to Provo, Utah? What does God want me to do?
And we work ourselves in knots over this. The thought is, generally speaking, that any time we're confronted with a choice that there is a "correct" way to respond and an "incorrect" way to respond. If we do the former, we stay in God's will and good things will happen to us. If we do the latter, who knows what will happen, but at the very least we'll know that we weren't obedient and we should feel bad about ourselves (at a minimum) and understand that any misfortune that comes our way subsequently is our fault and we shouldn't expect anyone to give us any help in dealing with it.
I'll tell you this for free: That way of looking at things is pretty damn cruel. It places a tremendous burden on us, increases our anxiety, increases our shame, and prevents us from living the abundant lives Jesus came to offer. In short, my opinion is that this way of thinking is not only horseshit (which it is...might even be bullshit) but it also prevents people from living more faithful lives as opposed to supporting more faithful lives. And, if we're not supporting more faithful living, what are we doing, folks? Oh, and to top it all off, there is no biblical reason that I can see that supports this type of thinking.
What's the alternative? What're we going to do about all this? Let's start by taking a look at a frequently misused verse that is over-quoted when it comes to Christian decision making and God's will.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
~ Jeremiah 29:11, NIV
These words are often used to create the kind of anxiety I mentioned above. Despite what the words themselves say, they're used to get people overwhelmed about their futures. God has a plan, you need to figure out what it is so you don't screw it up so that you can prosper and have hope and so on. But guess what? God's plan for the people in Jeremiah required absolutely nothing of those people (And the things God did ask of them they never really completed). Even so, God did exactly what he said he was going to do, he pulled a portion of those people out of exile when he was ready to do it. And also, these words were a promise made to a particular group of people at a particular moment in time, they are not a prophecy about your and your life. God already lived up to his end of that promise: he brought of his people out of exile (a portion of His people, the subgroup of people he was speaking to in these verses...God wasn't even talking to all of His people in that time and place).
Why do I make this point that these verses are not about you and your life? Doesn't it seem like I'm also being cruel? Well, that could certainly be the case if you're used to drawing on these verses to comfort you in hard times and, in which case, I do truly hate to burst that particular bubble. It's not my intention. (And, for the record, I think we can draw hope from knowing that our God is the kind of God that follows through on his promises, provides for his people when they're in crisis, and so on and so on. There's plenty of hope here to go around). The reason I bring this up is because: you and I are not actually promised a particular kind of future.
Now, on the one hand, this could be bad news if all of our hopes are in the idea that God is going to bring us into prosperity. On the other hand, it can also be good news. If there isn't some hyper specific plan, and if each decision we make isn't in danger of destroying that hyper specific plan, we can breathe a sigh of relief knowing there is some flexibility in how we make our choices and in how we discern what it looks like to live within the will of God.
As we think about specific plans God has for people- there simply aren't a lot of examples of people having personal crises over what decision to make in the Bible. We see, from time to time, people not wanting to do what God has asked them to do. This could make us anxious. Or, we could recognize that hearing the voice of God or seeing an angel, or whatever, is not analogous to the decisions we make over houses or jobs. If an angel visits you and tells you to do something, or, if you hear God's voice tell you to do something. Damn well do it- because, if not, your life is going to get messy until you do. But, if that's never happened to you...then breathe another deep sigh of relief because, I've got good news, you're not in imminent danger.
This is the game that churches sometimes play with us. They rely on us believing that we're in imminent danger in order to get what they need from us. Maybe that's money, maybe it's volunteer hours, maybe it's a discount on furniture or equipment, maybe it's looking the other way when legal or ethical problems arise, and so on. But here's the not-so-dirty little secret: You're not in danger. You are not going to screw up your life or God's will by making a decision other people think is stupid. You are not going to screw up your life by making an "emotional" decision as opposed to a "logical" decision. You're not going to screw up your life by not tithing. You're not going to screw up your life by not volunteering. You're not going to screw up your life by watching too much television. You're not going to screw up your life by having too much sex (no pun intended). You're not going to screw up your life with substance use.
Now, of course, decisions have consequences, for better and for worse. Some of the above may even have consequences. There may be health or financial consequences. There may be feelings of shame or disappointment, and so on. Our decisions may take certain options or opportunities off the table for us. I'm not saying you can make any decision at all and still have the life of your dreams. I'm saying God isn't going to leave you because you make bad choices. And, I'm also saying that you can live a pretty clean life and not end up with the life of your dreams. Life is complicated, regardless of our choices, and no amount of effort or discernment or spiritual exertion is going to bring us closer to a happier and prosperous life. Some of you will have that kind of life, and some of you will not. In either case, God is here to comfort and support his people. He will support you regardless. He will continue to draw us near to him and He will continue to move near to us. Life will ebb and flow. There will be good times and bad. In either case, God is present.
So, with all that said: Fear not your life choices. God is going to work things out as he chooses, when he chooses.
Your choices are your own. You may want your choices to align with your faith. I want that for myself, in fact. That's quite a good idea- when I am able to do this it gives me the sense that I am on the path that I want to be on. And I believe that is what it means to live in God's will: living in a way that gives us confidence that we're on the path we want to be on.
At the end of the day, there is no easy button with faith that gives us direct access to God's desire for every decision. But that doesn't mean we're on our own. We have wants and desires and strengths and weaknesses and brains and muscles and friends and family (hopefully). It's okay to rely on all of these things. It's okay to consider what you want when you make a decision. It's okay to consider what your values are, it's okay to ask for advice. It's okay to make decisions other people think are dumb or irresponsible. It's your life- what you do with it is up to you. But, if you can find a way to make decisions that makes you feel like you're on the path you want to be on...then my guess is you'll start feeling like you're cooking with gas.
