Saturday, June 11, 2011

Just Do Something:

A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will OR How To Make A Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Impressions, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing In The Sky, Etc.  By Kevin DeYoung (Moody Publishers, 2009)

That is one heck of a subtitle!  If the subtitle's job is to make it clear what you are talking about, this one does it exceptionally.  DeYoung begins with some simple analysis of the millennial generation (the one to which both he and I belong), an explanation of how the phrase "will of God" is used in scripture, and then heads straight into breaking down the concept of "finding the will of God."  He is sympathetic, but in no way panders those who are searching for God's will for their life in ways God hasn't promised to speak.  The fact is God hasn't promise to tell us what to do in every decision.  Instead He has given us wisdom in the form of His Spirit, scriptures which guide us in understanding His heart, and community.  DeYoung doesn't deny that God communicates in extraordinary ways sometimes, just maintains that they are indeed not ordinary.  In addition to providing helpful steps in making decisions, he pushes the reader to be courageous knowing that God is with you and act.  Most striking to me was his reminder that the difficult things in life are not choosing which job to take or which girl to ask out, but following God's will for your life in sanctification.  Loving your neighbor day in, day out, that's the hard part.  This is an easy read and worth the couple of hours it will take you.