Found: God’s Will by John MacArthur

This is a book written to help Christians understand God’s will in the life of the believer. The first 66 pages list out numerous scriptural references showing five elements to God’s will for one’s life – which include:

1. Saved
2. Spirit-filled
3. Sanctified
4. Submissive
5. Suffer

After which, paraphrasing MacArthur – if you’re doing all five of the basic elements and wanting direction for something, well, do whatever you want [68]. MacArthur explains that if those five elements of God’s will are preeminent in your life, then you can trust that according to Ps 37:4, God is giving you the desires of your heart.

MacArthur goes on, 

You may bounce off a lot of closed doors, but that is God’s way of forcing you into His open one. [74]

Hmmm – time to pause. In my estimation, at least, the belief that God uses “open” or “closed” doors to direct us is an easy way out of the responsibility of decision-making. Personally, I find decision making hard. For me, it’s much easier to be the “worker-bee” on the manufacturing line. On the other hand, it’s all together a lot more complicated (and difficult!) to be responsible for decisions made to ensure that the manufacturing line is operating at maximum efficiency. Hence, “decision makers” [aka managers] typically earn more money. It’s almost as though people aren’t necessarily paid for the work they do. Rather, people are compensated by the kinds of decisions they make. Therefore, the greater one’s responsibilities and magnitude of decisions made, the fatter the paycheck – at least on average. But, perhaps that’s a topic for another conversation.

Still, the concept of “open doors” and “closed doors” is foreign to me. My own understanding of verses within the Bible coupled with life-events has brought about numerous times when differing counsel, conflicting scriptures, hard to understand circumstances and even the good-willed intention of other people provide, at best, ambiguity with regard to personal direction.

Ultimately, we make the best decisions we can with the knowledge we have at the time. We can ‘decide yes’ or ‘decide no’. And then, like it or not, we have to deal with what is best described as the natural occurring outcomes (or consequences). And, those naturally occurring consequences can be good, bad or even indifferent. Lots of examples come to mind i.e. purchasing a house, investing, going back to school, taking a new job, whom to marry, having children, moving to a new city, etc. All too often I see Christians feeling duped or otherwise “beating themselves up” over decisions they’ve made wherein they suffer from the “I must have missed God’s will” syndrome. The ironic commonality amongst so many believers, however, is the belief that if something works out well then it must have been God’s will. And conversely, if something didn’t work out so well, then the poor schlep feels as though God is bringing about punishment for their going around God’s will. To me, this is nuts!

I think we can trust the writings of Paul in Rom 12:1-2 that:

1. We are to present our bodies as a living an holy sacrifice
2. This is our spiritual service of worship
3. We are not to be conformed to this world
4. Rather, we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind
5. So that we may prove what the will of God is

Subsequently, experiencing God’s will in one life is not complicated. We are to:

• Work hard
• Live in peace
• Warn those who are idle
• Encourage the timid
• Help the weak
• Be patient with everyone
• Don’t pay back wrong for wrong
• Be kind
• Be joyful always
• Pray continually
• Give thanks in all circumstances

Because [all of the above] is God’s stated will for us (1Thess 5:12-18).

I respectfully disagree with MacArthur that God is using the experiences in our lives to shape us into his will [75]. I remain unconvinced that God has a ‘blueprint plan’ for each person’s life. Nor do I believe that God reveals that ‘blueprint’ through open or closed windows. I have no doubt as to Paul’s account of his Damascus Road experience. However, such events are exceedingly rare within the Bible. To which, where are the verses teaching how to interpret and understand circumstances?

In conclusion, God wants our hearts and our minds. The details relating to what I decide (or don’t decide) will take their own course and therefore I don’t need to concern myself with specific outcomes or trying to figure out if something is (or is not) his plan via open or closed doors. So, simply put, God’s will is living our life as he intends and making decisions that honor him. It’s not anymore complicated than that.

Author: Bob

I’m an upper Midwestern guy who has recently entered the "Buick stage" of life and decided to migrate to Florida. This blog is an attempt to rectify discordant aspects within my Christian faith ... or what often feels like my lack of Christian faith. Things which make life more enjoyable include strong black coffee, charcoal grilling anytime of the year, putz'ing at a table saw, playing chess, a good orthopedic surgeon and an occasional IPA. Please feel free to poke around and comment as you wish. I welcome discussion and the insights of others. View all posts by Bob