I am reading a book by Kevin DeYoung call Just Do Something. It is a book about Gods will and doing something great with our lives. People today seem to get somewhat overwhelmed when trying to discover God's will for their life. I've been there too and it isn't easy. Let me ask you this though, if we aren't sure what God's will is for our life should we just sit around and wait for Him to make it clear to us? I don't think so. I mean, if we did everyone would be sitting around doing nothing! Discerning God's will can be quite difficult, but I want to share what Mr. DeYoung has to say about it and hopefully it will help you understand it better as it did for me.
God has a will of decree. This is what He has ordained. Everything that happens is in accordance to God's will of decree because He is ultimately in control of the whole universe. Secondly God has a will of desire. Following God's will of desire is doing what He commands us to do in the Bible. We need to obey him. Following His will of desire means putting away the old man who was a slave to sin and putting on the new man who is a servant of righteousness. Lastly is God's will of direction, which is what we tend to have so much difficulty discerning. I believe that God does have a specific plan for our lives, but he does not micromanage us. God will direct us in accordance to His will but He might not tell us to "take this job," "move to this place," or "take this college class." While there are times he makes it clear to us we need to do or not do certain things, God is not going to cause our live to suddenly end because we took a job that wasn't the best option for us. God works through the decisions we make to lead us in His plan for our lives. Just because we might make a wrong turn along the way doesn't mean that we will never make it to our destination. God will continue to direct us and lead us to complete the special task he has given us here on earth. While it is important to obey God, we need to stop fretting about making a mistake and doing something that is not part of God's will for our lives. Remember God's will of decree? Yeah, God is still in control of everything that happens.
So why are we sitting around waiting for God to drop something in our lap and be like "Go buy the blue house on 5th street!" This is why I'm not waiting around for God to drop a summer job in my lap. I am applying for different jobs, looking around for opportunities, and staying open to doing anything. I might end up babysitting, teaching violin lessons, and doing other odd jobs, or I might work on a fishing boat this summer. I don't know yet, but I am not just sitting here waiting for a phone call from someone that needs a babysitter for their kids this summer.
If you are unsure about what God wants you to be doing, just find something to do. If you are wondering if God maybe wants you to go into some kind of ministry don't wait until you know for sure, get involved with something near you. Maybe something as simple as helping teach a Sunday school class. God is going to use all the things we do to help teach us and prepare us for what He has in store for our lives.
God has a plan for our lives but we can't accomplish it if we are sitting around. Here is a short video I watched in one of my classes last week. It is lighthearted and funny, but also makes you think deeper about what we are (or are not) doing with our lives.
"YOU WERE MADE TO BE AWESOME!" ~Kid President
What are you waiting for?
GO DO SOMETHING!
