It Must be a Sign...

Joe:

I looked at the book sitting there on the table. My emotions were surging powerfully, so I knew something strange was going on. Of all the books my sister could have left out on the table, it happened to be this one, so it must be a sign that I was meant to read it. I prayed, “God, if you really want me to read this book, please let the author's first name be Kevin.” I opened my eyes, and wow, there on the cover: "Kevin"! After steadying myself, I still wasn’t quite sure, so I flipped open my Bible (which also happened to be lying on the table), and opened it at random to seek God’s will in the matter. I came upon this verse: “He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday…” (Nehemiah 8:3) I was so excited about this special guidance from the Lord that He wanted me to read the book on the table!

Just kidding.

Actually, when I had the inkling to read Kevin DeYoung’s book Just Do Something, I just picked it up and read it. I found it to be very convicting and helpful. DeYoung points out that the methods for finding God’s will, and even our collective understanding of what God’s will is, have begun to veer off course. He suggests that when Christians (like me!) worry about “finding God’s perfect plan” for their lives, they tend to struggle with making decisions and often end up doing nothing. DeYoung builds a Biblical case in his book for the idea that God is less concerned about what path we take in a nonethical decision such as choosing a career than He is about how we walk in that path. God does want us to seek wisdom, but this consists more in soaking up His ways from the Bible than expecting God to give us special revelation in a situation. DeYoung uses Scripture to demonstrate that God wants us to make a common-sense decision about a career, spouse, move, and other issues and then simply live according to His ways in that situation. He includes impressive descriptions of how his grandfathers did hard, big things for the glory of God because they went out and did something instead of seeking mystical direction from God.

Although I’d love to go on and on about this wonderful book, and I’d especially like to answer some of the questions I’ve sparked in your minds, I can’t. This is a blog post, not a doctoral dissertation. However, there is a way to solve your curiosity. And no, it isn’t to ask for a sign from Heaven.

Just do something.

Go buy the book and read it!