On "The Will of God"
I intended to shoot out an email to "the Nine" on the subject of "The Will of God." (please note, imagine hearing the phrase "The Will of God" in a deep southern old fat man's voice and you'll get my drift.) And, for those unfamiliar, "the Nine" being a group of wonderfully wise and lovely ladies that I attended college with.
So, that aside, this whole "will of God" thing is really driving me crazy lately. A lot of weird stuff has been going on in my life lately that's really caused me to be deeply frustrated by the concept of "the will of God" for our lives, our days, our minutes, our decisions, etc. I've seen some people very close to me believe that they are doing the will of God and to be twarted in every step. What does this mean? Does this mean it wasn't the will of God? Does that mean that they misunderstood what they believed to be the will of God? If you are a beleiver and you feel strongly that God has given you direction and that direction does not work out, how do you take that? How, then, do you ever trust yourself again to know whether you are hearing the voice of God showing you His will.
On top of this, why in the world does God make it so difficult to understand what His will for our lives is? And where did this concept come from anyway? Is it rooted in Scripture, or did we humans, in our incessant need to "know" the future, plan and prepare, just make up the whole concept. Because it seems to me that if were so important to be doing "the will of God," in your life, He wouldn't make it so difficult to discover.
Because, here I am on the brink of 30, possibly about 1/3 of my way through life, God-willing, (pun intended), and I really don't know what I'm "called" to do or what "God's will" is for my life. And as I see some older people struggling with this same concept at 50, I'm just frustrated by the whole issue.
I think the root of the question is how involved is God? This is similiar to an entry I read on Greg's blog about the weather and what not. Does God care about what shirt I choose in the morning? Probably not. Does he care if it rains or if there's sun? Not according to Greg. Does he care if I decide to move across the country? I honestly don't know. How involved is God in our daily decisions? How big does a choice have to be before you get the Creator of the World involved?
Thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated...
So, that aside, this whole "will of God" thing is really driving me crazy lately. A lot of weird stuff has been going on in my life lately that's really caused me to be deeply frustrated by the concept of "the will of God" for our lives, our days, our minutes, our decisions, etc. I've seen some people very close to me believe that they are doing the will of God and to be twarted in every step. What does this mean? Does this mean it wasn't the will of God? Does that mean that they misunderstood what they believed to be the will of God? If you are a beleiver and you feel strongly that God has given you direction and that direction does not work out, how do you take that? How, then, do you ever trust yourself again to know whether you are hearing the voice of God showing you His will.
On top of this, why in the world does God make it so difficult to understand what His will for our lives is? And where did this concept come from anyway? Is it rooted in Scripture, or did we humans, in our incessant need to "know" the future, plan and prepare, just make up the whole concept. Because it seems to me that if were so important to be doing "the will of God," in your life, He wouldn't make it so difficult to discover.
Because, here I am on the brink of 30, possibly about 1/3 of my way through life, God-willing, (pun intended), and I really don't know what I'm "called" to do or what "God's will" is for my life. And as I see some older people struggling with this same concept at 50, I'm just frustrated by the whole issue.
I think the root of the question is how involved is God? This is similiar to an entry I read on Greg's blog about the weather and what not. Does God care about what shirt I choose in the morning? Probably not. Does he care if it rains or if there's sun? Not according to Greg. Does he care if I decide to move across the country? I honestly don't know. How involved is God in our daily decisions? How big does a choice have to be before you get the Creator of the World involved?
Thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated...
posted by Erin at 9:41 AM
3 Comments:
so, leave it to the preacher to be the first to comment. sorry, i know i'm not one of 'the 9,' but i feel compelled to comment on this excellent post.
first of all, let me just say that i have such respect for the fact that you are even asking the question. i mean, asking a questions sometimes takes some real guts because it might mean that you don't particularly like the answer. or it could mean that you have to learn to live with the fact that you don't have an answer right now. in any case, it takes some guts to ask questions about things that most of the time we, as followers of Christ, would rather not explore any further. i mean, the bottom line, i think, is that we are fat and happy in our beliefs. we believe what we believe. if we don't ask questions, we never have to change. so, kudos to you for asking questions.
now, as for the topic of God's will. i mean, erin, there is all kinds of awesome written material on this, so if you are really struggling, i would encourage you to see what you can find by many who have struggled with this very issue. however, if you would like my opinion, it is this:
i feel that God's will is quite clear: love God and love others. i don't mean to sound overly simplistic, but it is just how i understand what it means to be in relationship with God at this point in my journey. i am called to love God and love others. everything else is in or out of God's will insofar as it lines up with loving God and others or not. does that make sense? let me put it this way...
i struggled deeply as a high school senior about where to go to college. i wrestled and lost sleep and sweated. i felt like there were a million colleges and God had only one picked out for me, and i just couldn't understand how i was supposed to figure out which one that was. one of my pastors at the time told me to pray about it, pick a college, and just do it. God would be there and would walk with me. if it didn't work out, then i should look at transfering. i mean, this is just common sense, of course, but i was overly spiritualizing it. i just needed to go.
looking back on it, i had a great college experience. would i have had a great college experience somewhere else? i truly believe i would have. if i would have journeyed in my faith, in my loving, and in my growing in discipleship, then the college isn't what is important. does that make sense?
finally, you mentioned that i said that God doesn't care about the weather. just for clarification, its not so much that i think God doesn't CARE about the weather, as i believe God doesn't CONTROL each day's weather in each region over each house. i think God DOES care what shirt you put on because how you dress can be a reflection of how you are loving God and loving others. are you putting on a shirt that is made by slave laborers in india? if so, i think God absolutely cares about what shirt you put on.
for me, its all about love, not about control.
but that's just my opinion.
a fellow questioner,
greg.
Hey Erin - interesting question... I’ll admit, since I graduated, I haven't really pondered as many deep, theological questions. In college, to discern God’s will, I wanted him to write a big, clear, plain message on a billboard for me. It never happened, then my senior year I read Isaiah 30:19-21 – which I look back at being one of the more significant revelations I ever received.
19 O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Whether you turn to the right or to the left or up or down… I get to make decisions, then sometimes he’ll say, says, ”no… go over there THIS is the way, walk in it.”
It took the load off of me. Like Greg said my mission from God is to love God and love people, if I have that in the crosshairs, then I just live and listen.
Yeah, that sounds too easy, and my life doesn’t always feel that way, but I’ve gotten a lot of perspective lately. A big help has been getting in alignment with God about my role as a wife. That’s a completely different topic, but it’s changed me.
Is there a specific thing you’re working through?
Greg and Kerri - I'm hearing ya. It reminds me of the only thing i remember from doing "experiencing God." - something to the tune of "see where God is working and join in." That you don't have to have a specific calling or place, etc. but that God calls us to care for others and to do His work no matter where we are. When there are decisions to make, pray and ask for wisdom and then do what makes sense... I guess I don't need to over complicate it from there...
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