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Christians are
obligated to do the will of God. Christians want to please God by doing his
will. But Christians often say, “I don’t know God’s will for my life” or “I must
find God’s will for my life.” That sounds noble, but as the title of this book
suggests, finding God’s will may actually be a more pagan than Christian
concept.
This is the best
book on this subject that I have read since Garry Friesan’s Decision Making
and the Will of God was published in 1980. Waltke is an outstanding Bible
scholar who has taught at Regent College and Dallas, Westminster (Philadelphia),
and Reformed (Orlando) seminaries. He has much practical insight into spiritual
things, particularly as they relate to understanding the Word and applying it to
life.
The book is
divided into two sections: God’s Will, A Pagan Notion? and God’s
Program of Guidance. It contains nine chapters and could be the text for a
Bible study group, Sunday school class, individual reading, or a series of
sermons on the will of God. It will not be an easy book for readers who have
believed that finding God’s will is some kind of quest for the unknown. They
will need to unlearn as well as relearn.
In the first
section, Waltke establishes his case that much of what we call finding God’s
will is a pagan notion followed by pagan practices and gross misunderstanding of
what that means. “When I hear Christians talking about the will of God, they
often use phrases such as ‘If only I could find God’s will,’ as though He was
keeping it hidden from them, or ‘I’m praying that I’ll discover His will for my
life,’ because they apparently believe the Lord doesn’t want them to find it, or
that He wants to make it as hard as possible for them to find so that they will
prove their worth. Unfortunately, these concepts do not mesh with the balance of
Scripture….
“The word
‘finding’ we normally use in the sense of learning or obtaining or attaining to
God’s mind. When we seek to ‘find’ God’s will, we are attempting to discover
hidden knowledge by supernatural activity. If we are going to find His will on
one specific choice, we will have to penetrate the divine mind to get His
decision. ‘Finding’ in this sense is really a form of divination.”
Waltke develops
the idea that while God may give us a certain burden or desire or circumstantial
leading to do what we call the will of God, we do not seek signs, or use
techniques that support divination, ritual, or magic. Nor are we to twist the
Word in order to support that kind of pagan approach.
He deals with
several verses that are often misinterpreted, misquoted, and misapplied, such as
Proverbs 3: 5, 6. Following a misleading translation in the King James Version,
countless Christians have believed that God would guide their paths in the sense
that if we ask him, he will give us specific or special direction. Waltke opens
up a proper exegesis of that verse that will help us better understand what
knowing and doing God’s will involves.
“There is no place
in the New Testament where we are taught to seek special revelation, and the
practice may actually lead to disobedience if it causes us to neglect the
everyday opportunities that life brings us in order to wait for a special word
from the Lord.” But then he is quick to state the he believes in supernatural
revelation; however, we do not ask for it. God may choose to surprise us with
it, but we can’t force him to, nor expect him to do so.
The book
underscores the importance of learning the Scripture, properly interpreting it,
and, with the Holy Spirit’s help in those exercises, obeying it. Waltke writes,
“Part of reading the Bible is knowing how to interpret it. Every growing
Christian should learn to handle the Scripture in a credible way. We must seek
accurate interpretations, so that we not only know what the words say, but what
they mean.” We must not impose our own or others’ ideas upon God’s Word.
Therefore, he challenges us, as we read and study the Bible, we pray for
spiritual understanding. As we understand God’s Word, we commit ourselves to
humbly obey it.
The chapter
“Developing a heart for God” will challenge the reader to do just that as it
explores the area of desire, another important aspect of Christian commitment.
The first chapter “Is Finding God’s Will a Biblical Idea?” and the Afterword are
worth the price of the book. You cannot read this book and come away with less
than this, “Intellectually comprehending the truth of Scripture is just not the
same as appropriating its truths.” This book will bless your life and
understanding of God’s will. It will help in knowing how to pray and give better
counsel to those around you.
- Charles Dunahoo, CEP Coordinator
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