The Will of God

I just finished a great book by Mark Devine about Dietrich Bonhoeffer called Bonhoeffer Speaks Today. Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who was executed by the Nazis in 1945 for his part in a failed plot to assassinate Hitler. He was one of the leaders of the Confessing Church, which dared to defy Nazi attempts to control Christianity in Germany.  Bonhoeffer has often been cast as a liberal but Devine argues that this German pastor and theologian has a few things to teach us Evangelicals.

Of particular interest to me was Devine’s exposition of Bonhoeffer’s position on the will of God and how God guides. Bonhoeffer did not believe in the immediacy of God’s guidance, but believed instead that God has already revealed his will for us and that he guides through his Word. Devine points out that “the daily quest for special, direct, individual guidance has come to dominate the Evangelical world” and that for many of us decisions ranging from who to marry, or whether to change jobs, all the way down to “the dilemma of whether to turn right or left on Elm Street” all stand open for direct input from God. Devine is not saying God never offers direct guidance. In fact, he claims to have received such guidance himself (as have I).  His point is that “waiting on the Lord” can result in a kind of paralysis that leaves us “surrounded by frequent claims of divine guidance and divine leadership by others while we ‘dull brothers and sisters’ are left to ‘pray harder’ and wait on the Lord.’”

The author asks, “What if God does not normally offer new, extra-biblical guidance in cases involving non-moral decision making? What if He is pleased to have us make decisions, obviously not disregarding the character and will of God revealed in Holy Scripture, but also without needing to claim God’s specific and extra-biblical sanction where he has not required it?” I can think of many times in my life where I prayed feverishly and never got “a word from the Lord” about a pending decision. Did that mean God was trying to be evasive or murky, or was playing hide-and-seek with me? As Devine points out, "God never seemed to have any difficulty making his will known in the past.”

Honestly, I think sometimes people saying, “I’ll pray about that” is little more than an excuse. For instance, many times I've heard people say, “I’ll pray about going” when it comes to missions. But hasn’t God already made it crystal clear in Scripture that he expects all of us to join him in his mission to reach the world? What is there to pray about? Or people say, “I want God’s best.” Of course you do; we all do. But does it really matter to God if you work for company “A” or company “B”? Yes, we all want a clear sign from God, we want him to write something across the sky, but honestly, he seldom does that, does he?

What I’m trying to say today, agreeing with Devine and Bonhoeffer, is that it is okay if you can't prove God is calling you here or there. After praying about it, and checking your decision against what God has already revealed about himself in the Bible, sometimes we just need to make a decision. This very thing happened in the Bible you know. Exodus 14:15 says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on!’” In other words, God basically said, "Stop praying and get going." Maybe that’s what God is saying to me or you today. Maybe God has already told us all we need to know. Maybe it's time to get up off our knees and get moving.