May 19, 2009: On Discerning The Will Of God

I was recently asked if I had any old Pastor's Pages on discerning God's will. I didn't, so here's one.

"Discerning God's will" is a favorite topic of some preachers (Charles Stanley in particular, I've noticed), but one that I ignore. The reason is because I think we already know the will of God in areas where it matters. Regarding doctrine, we know it is God's will that we believe the gospel of his Son Jesus Christ. Regarding behavior, we know it is his will that we be kind, just, fair, honest, compassionate, sober, diligent, faithful, loving, generous and pure, and that we avoid malice, lust, drunkenness, greed, slander, impurity, sloth, rebellion, dishonesty, theft and negligence. We could expound a bit more on the meaning of the gospel of Christ, and we could add a few things to the lists of virtues and vices - but we've already got the general idea. Believe what is true and do what is right. This is God's will for you.

But when Christian evangelicals talk about discerning the will of God (or, perhaps, "hearing his voice" or "following the Holy Spirit's leading"), they are usually not referring to things that have a clear moral or doctrinal component. They are usually thinking of choices between amoral alternatives. [Usage note: "amoral" does not mean
"bad", it just means having nothing to do with morality.] These would involve questions like, "Should I take that job in Spokane or the one in Raleigh?" "Should I attend Illinois State or Northern Illinois?" "Should I marry Alice or Barbara?" "Boxers or briefs?"

I would not say that God is aloof, uninvolved in such decisions. He guides. But he does not play a shell game with us, hiding his true will behind a fast-moving blur of opaque shields that demand our utmost concentration in order to guess which one holds the peanut. I have seen long lists of "clues" for discerning God's will, and they turn me off when they wander into Da Vinci Code complexity. The Bible tends to present the will of God as something that may be hard to do but never hard to know. In fact, there are repeated reminders of its simplicity against those who are making it too complicated.

Three examples below:

Deuteronomy 30:11-14:
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

Micah 6:8:
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Luke 10:25-28:
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

A few months ago I referred to a minister who obsessed over the will of God concerning a job opportunity, but who somehow missed the resounding clarity of the 7th commandment, "You shall not commit adultery." Talk about straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel! Maybe one of the reasons I don't preach those "How to discover God's will for your life" sermons is because I perceive that they focus on all the wrong things, encouraging believers to guess at the unfathomable instead of just doing the good thing (or avoiding the bad thing) that is right in front of them.

Augustine famously said, "Love God, and do as you please," and he was exactly right. If you love God - which necessarily means obeying his commandments - you can go to Spokane or Raleigh, attend Northern or State, marry Alice or Barbara. Again, granting that there is no moral difference between the two. If, for example, Alice is a stunningly attractive, razor-tongued tart while Barbara is a gentle and sincere servant of God, then the moral component makes it obvious whom you should marry. You should marry Alice because you're not good enough for Barbara. For the sake of Barbara's happiness, you must leave her to a better man than yourself!