On Finding the will of God: A Message of the class of 2010

Over the course of the last two centuries, a popular theology has emerged that remains in many of today's churches. This doctrine suggests that God has a hidden "perfect" will that we must somehow "find." It may surprise you to know that I believe this doctrine is an unfortunate heresy of the modern church that has imprisoned many godly believers in fear. As the class of 2010 prepares to graduate, I cannot think of a more appropriate time to explain why I believe this is so.

Theologians look at God's will from a number of angles. For the purpose of this article, I will focus upon two of them. I like to think of these two glances at God's will as a kaleidoscopic view of the same thing. When you first look through a kaleidoscope, you see a beautiful, intricate design. When you spin it, you continue to view the same subject, but it looks very different. As I express some thoughts on the matter of "God's will" as applied to our lives, I will discuss them in terms of two "kaleidoscopic" views.

The first look through the kaleidoscope presents God's "preceptive" will. Don't get lost in the word; essentially, it means that God has particular desires for the way we will behave and live. He has told us "how things work best" in the world He made. It is His will, for instance, that we will not kill or steal; that we love our enemies; that we worship Him; and that we will care for others. These are all biblical precepts from which we can learn as we study Scripture, and they are in no way hidden from us.

As we "spin the kaleidoscope," however, we look at the will of God from another perspective. God's "preceptive" will does not always match His "decretive" will. When it comes to a discussion of the decretive will of God, we must begin with an understanding that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. At the very least, He sovereignly "permits" (dare I say that He "orchestrates") every event that comes to pass in human history.

An example will help contrast these two views of God's will. Was it His will (preceptive) that the Fall of mankind might take place in the Garden of Eden? No. God never said to man, "I hope that you will choose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Man did it anyway. On the other hand, was the Fall of mankind God's will in the second (decretive) sense? Absolutely; He ordained that it would come to pass, and it did.

Confused yet? The study of theology always reminds me that I am a finite being with limited understanding, and that He is infinite-beyond our understanding. I love thinking through theological perspectives, but I also realize that not everyone loves what I love. So, I move on to the practical application of this mini-lesson in theology.

As a senior in high school, I remember staring my future in the face with an incredible sense of anxiety. Where does God want me to go to college? What does He want me to do with my life? How will I know who I should marry? Where should I work? As these questions flooded my mind, I wish I had had a better understanding of the theology I have just outlined. I have learned two lessons in particular that I believe are relevant for all believers.

First, I am increasingly aware that our sovereign God has already decreed a perfect plan for my life. I don't have to find it; it has already been ordained. You ask, "What if I marry the 'wrong' person?" You won't. "What if I pursue the 'wrong' career path?" You can't. Here is where the doctrine of the "perfect will" of God gets in the way and causes unnecessary anxiety. God has a plan for your life and, no matter what you do, you cannot thwart His will.

Consider this "real life" example: If you accept the wrong job offer, then that means that the person who was supposed to have the job you now occupy is also in the "wrong" place. And what about the person whose job he took? She is in the wrong place, too. And what about the person who is working in the job where you were "supposed" to be employed? And so the dominoes fall. If we accept that God has a hidden "perfect" will that we may or may not find, then when we make a mis-step and "miss" God's will, we cause everyone else in the world to miss His will for their lives, too. Now, that's pressure! I submit to you, however, that we simply do not have such power to make a cosmic mess. Our God's sovereign, decreed will is coming to pass no matter what we do; praise Him for that!

The second lesson I have learned since becoming an adult is that, in His Scriptures, our merciful God has provided us with principles and precepts that we can (and should) apply to daily Christian living-and they must guide life's decisions, both big and small. What he "wants" for our lives is anything but hidden or mysterious; it is revealed in His Living Word. Our job as His children is to study His Word diligently under the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we might learn more about the precepts He has set forth for us.

While you cannot "miss the boat" on His decretive will, you certainly can ignore His preceptive will. "What if I do miss His (perceptive) will?" you ask? Do not be paralyzed by fear; instead, rest in knowing that whatever happens and whatever decisions you make are part of His grand plan for your life. As Psalm 139:16 puts it, "All the days were ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

So, the sum of the message I want to share with this year's graduates (and with our broader community) is this: As you consider your future, there are two things you need to do when it comes to "finding" God's will for your life. First, delight yourself in the Lord, and make choices in light of His Word and the precepts it teaches. This requires continued study of Scripture, as well as wise counsel from Godly men and women who thoroughly know His Word. My prayer for you, then, is that you will choose your future spouse not based primarily upon feelings (which are neither constant or reliable), but based upon the individual's godliness, integrity, and character. Likewise, I pray that you choose your college and career path based upon how God has gifted you, upon the integrity of the employer you serve, upon the opportunities to minister for and learn about Jesus Christ, and upon other similar biblically-derived precepts. Wherever He puts you, just grow where you are planted, and live as He has called you to live.

Second, you must trust in His sovereignty, knowing that you will never fall out of His perfect plan for your life. Even if you do make sinful choices that do not align with His (preceptive) will, He has a purpose and a plan for those choices. So, make your choices, and keep moving. This point is not meant to give you license to sin, but to keep you from becoming paralyzed with fear that you will "miss out" on God's will. When you discover that you have not followed His precepts, repent. When sinful choices cause lasting effects upon your life, learn from them. But, as you learn, rest in the knowledge that this was part of His decreed perfect plan for your life. Our God is sovereign, and you are not beyond His reach!

In the end, my dear students, what I want you to know above all is that our God does not call us to a quest for some mysterious, elusive will that we must seek to discover. Instead, He provides His Word in full view, and He tells us to allow it to guide and direct our lives as the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to its Truths. Choose to follow that instead of your heart's whims, and you will not be misled. May God bless you richly as you are launched in the world, fully equipped to, as our school's mission statement says, "...impact the world for Christ."