Archive: Does God Have A Detailed Plan For Your Life?
Archive: Does God Have A Detailed Plan For Your Life?
What is the relationship between God’s will and your decisions? Here are two viewpoints
Yes
By Leslie and Bernice Flynn
A survey taken at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport asked, “Do you know God has a plan for your life?” More than 90 percent of those answering said they were not aware of this. Yet just as God led Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Peter and Paul, or nearer to our time, William Carey, David Livingstone, George Muller and D. L. Moody, so today He is able to guide us.
The possibility of doing God’s will is implied in a verse like “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother” (Matt. 12:50, KJV).
The Bible abounds in promises of God’s guidance, such as “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shall go; I will guide thee with Mine eye,” (Ps. 32:8, KJV) and the well-known Proverbs 3:6, “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Scripture cites people who were led by the Lord, including the Israelites through the wilderness (Ps. 136:16), David (Ps. 16:7), Paul (Acts 22:14) and, supremely, Christ (John 5:30).
The Bible’s precepts command that we “prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2, KJV). Paul wrote, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17, KJV). James rebuked those who made plans while disregarding the will of God (4:13-15). Many times Paul indicated he wanted to plan his schedule according to the divine will (Rom. 1:10; 15:32; I Cor. 4:19, 16:7).
Frequent prayers were made for divine light, both for the petitioner and for others. The Psalmist prayed that the Colossians would be “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col. 1:9, KJV).
Overwhelming evidence shows that God has a plan for His children’s lives. But how can He communicate His will to us? For example, in today’s working world, there are more than 35,000 job titles. How may a person discover which job God wants him to pursue?
The three major resources for making decisions in accordance with His will are: the Bible above, the burden within and the bearings without; or to restate: the divine command, the inner call and the outer circumstances.
The Bible Above
Large areas of life are already outlined for us with guidance that is clear and unclouded by ambiguity. In these matters we need not pray, wonder, nor waver in a moral tug-of-war. We never need to seek the leading of the Lord about any subject on which the Scripture already has a command.
A respected Sunday school teacher confided in a friend that she was having an extramarital affair with a married deacon, then added, “But this isn’t some cheap affair you read about. This is different. You see, his wife doesn’t understand him, and our love is from God!” But God had already written, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14, KJV). The Bible makes it plain that it is wrong to cheat, steal, lie, gossip, commit fornication, murder or covet. The moral will of God is expressed in the Ten Commandments (Rom. 2: 18).
The Burden Within
How does the Spirit guide us? Often by inward impelling. By affecting our mental processes. By putting impressions into our thinking. By energizing our minds toward some task. By stressing the urgency of some course of action. By pointing to some need. By jogging our memories. By stirring our imaginations. The compelling, insistent desire to study law, medicine or architecture, or the strong propensity to follow a certain course may well be the Spirit’s voice within. Nehemiah wrote, “God put into mine heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy” (7:5, KJV). Sometimes the inner call is so insistent that it seems like a real voice.
The Holy Spirit does work by inner urges; that doesn’t mean every compulsion is from God. John Wesley warned, “Do not hastily ascribe things to God. Do not easily suppose dreams, voices, impressions, visions, or revelations to be from God. They may be from Him, they may be from nature, they may be from the devil. Therefore, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be from God.”
Here are some tests for discerning whether the inner voice is the Holy Spirit.
- The true inner voice must be in agreement with Scripture.
- The true inner voice asks nothing irrational.
- The true inner voice will be unrelenting and persistent.
- The true inner voice will find outer confirmation.
The Bearings Without
God uses circumstances to guide us along the way. Things don’t just happen. Coincidence is mindless fortuity or patternless chance, whereas circumstances forge a coherent chain in the purpose of God who “worketh all things after the counsel of his own will” and “for good to them that love” Him (Eph. I: 11; Rom. 8:28, KJV).
But some people tend to make circumstances 95 percent of their guidance. Such overemphasis on circumstances can be dangerous. Just as a closed door does not always indicate God’s will, neither does an open door always confirm divine guidance.
When King Saul was pursuing David and learned he was nearby, he wrongly concluded it was God’s will for him to kill David (I Sam. 23:7).
Later, when David came upon Saul sleeping, David’s general suggested that God had delivered the enemy into David’s hand to kill, but David refused to let this set of circumstances dictate the murder of Saul (I Sam. 26:7-9).
Decisions should not be based on clever coincidences. To dream of an airplane, then to wake up to a phone call from an old friend in California, does not indicate God’s leading for a trip west. Someone called this the “simultaneous experience” approach. If a fellow gets a letter from a girl right after praying for a mate, this does not mean she is God’s choice for him. Although circumstances can affirm God’s will, they should not be relied on totally—especially when the end result is contrary to Biblical principles.
Circumstances should always be tested against the Word of God. Apart from the Bible, circumstantial evidence can be misread.
To know God’s individual will, look first to the Word and the Spirit; they are the prime pointers of God’s leading. But usually circumstances ultimately fall in place, like the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle.
A major circumstance that often determines God’s direction is the task at hand. True guidance is never contrary to plain duty. One man testified that the best advice he ever received was, “Do the next thing.” He said this procedure was especially helpful when he didn’t know God’s will in a situation.
You ask: “What’s the will of God?”
Well, here’s the answer true:
“The nearest thing, that should be done,
That He can do—through you!”
—E. C. Baird
A believer from Africa reported to a North American church about the spread of the Gospel on his continent. A member of the congregation approached him. “I’ve been thinking that perhaps I should serve the Lord in Africa myself.”
The African asked, “What are you doing to serve the Lord here in your country?”
“Not much of anything,” came the reply.
“Then, please,” countered the African, “don’t go to Africa to do it.”
The will of God may be the undramatic and often monotonous repetition of daily tasks. A daughter whose duty was to do the dishes after the evening meal would not be doing the Lord’s will by dillydallying awhile, then running off to youth Bible Study, and neglecting the assigned job.
God’s will is first things first. For the student it’s that assignment. For the office worker, it may be tedious clerical work. For a mechanic, doing a good repair job on the next car. For the housewife, getting meals, doing housework and taking care of the children. For all of us, it’s throwing the covers off and getting our feet on the floor when the alarm goes off. The doing of first things first leads to the next step, and the next, with God’s will progressively unfolding.
To know God’s will for us we should also seek the counsel of friends. The Lord should speak to others on mutual matters. Dr. Paul Little said, “I get very suspicious of people who come with very pious and spiritual language, telling me that God has led them to do some wild, outlandish thing, and nobody else had gotten the message. Undoubtedly, God may in rare instances guide us in a way that is totally contrary to the thinking of equally committed Christians, but I think it would be the rare exception rather than the rule.”
In conclusion, God has an individual will for our lives. To make decisions in accordance with His will entails that we consider the Word from above, the call from within and circumstances from without (which at times means simply doing the task at hand), and that we seek wise counsel.
Leslie Flynn is pastor of Grace Conservative Baptist Church in Nanuet, New York. He is the author of God’s Will: You Can Know It, from which this article is excerpted by his permission (published by Victor Books, 1979).
NO
By Garry Friesen with J. Robin Maxon
Does God have a specific will for every detail of a person’s life? Traditionally evangelicals have believed that He does have an ideal plan (individual will) uniquely designed for each believer.
It is my contention, by contrast, that the idea of God having an individual will is not found in Scripture. If I am right, the most startling ramification is that many believers are investing a great deal of time and energy searching for a specific plan (or “dot”) that is nonexistent.
In seminars that I have conducted on the subject of God’s will, people with whom I have talked have readily admitted they have often been unsure of God’s individual will before making decisions. Furthermore, a good number have testified they are never 100 percent certain of God’s individual will. Of course if there is no individual will to be found, this common experience can be easily explained.
There was a time, though, when such confessions were few and far between. Before I began my study of God’s will many years ago, I was convinced that everyone else was successful in finding this “dot” that so often eluded me. Whenever someone gave a testimony of God’s specific detailed guidance of which they were 100 percent certain, I would nod my head along with everyone else. I never stood up to testify that I had a hard time finding God’s will all the time. No one else did either. We all listened to the testimony and said to ourselves, “Yes, that is the way it should be.” We sincerely believed that our frustrations in finding the “dot” must have been the result of sin or insincerity in our hearts. For we continually heard, “God will always clearly reveal His will to the sincere seeker.”
One woman who adopted an alternative position to the traditional view of the “dots,” said that when she did, she began enjoying her Christian life for the first time. In her sincerity to seek God’s individual will, she had been continually plagued with feelings of guilt as well as frustration. She earnestly looked for indications of God’s plan, but she had to admit to herself that she was never 100 percent certain that she had found it. The result was feelings of anxiety before every decision, and feelings of guilt following every choice. Since life is filled with decisions that must be made, she was not able to enjoy her Christian life. When she learned that “finding the dot” was not the essence of Christian decision making, she was set free from the frustration and guilt. In their place, she found the joy that she knew Christians were supposed to have in Christ.
The idea that God has an individual will for our lives will either be liberating or unsettling. But in either case, the believer has a mandate to evaluate the Biblical data.
Let’s consider the Scripture passages most often quoted by the traditional view as teaching an individual will. For the person who assumes that God has an individual will for each life, each of these passages will, upon first reading, appear to confirm that presupposition. However, in most cases study will show it is more likely the writer is referring, instead, to the moral will[1] of God. We expect, then, that these key passages will not prove an individual will of God for each person; rather a stronger case can be made for understanding them in terms of the moral will of God.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Usually, it is the King James Version that is noted, for the translation ” … and He shall direct thy paths” gives a vivid picture of personal leading according to an individual plan.
Hebrew lexicons and commentaries on the Psalms and Proverbs agree that the correct translation of Proverbs 3:6b is: “… and He shall make your paths straight, (or) smooth, (or) successful.” The noun “path” is frequently employed in the Psalms and Proverbs. But it does not have the idea of an individual will of God. Hebrew writers use it to describe the general course or fortunes of life (see Proverbs 4:18-19; 15:19). When the verb “make straight, make smooth” is connected with the noun “paths,” the meaning of the statement is, “He shall make the course of your life successful.” This meaning is clearly indicated in Proverbs 11:5: “The righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way, but the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.” This verse contrasts the righteous man who experiences true success in life with the wicked man who brings trouble upon himself by his own devious behavior. This is a common theme in Proverbs (4:18-19; 11:5; 15:19; 22:17-21).
The point of Proverbs 3:5-6, then, is that those who trust God, and trust in His wisdom rather than their own worldly understanding, and acknowledge God in each part of their life, will reap a life that is successful by God’s standards. This understanding fits the larger context precisely. Proverbs 3: 1-10 is a series of two-verse couplets. Each couplet describes the internal or external blessings which come to the person who acknowledges God. A summary of each couplet would look like this:
Keep my commandments and have long days and peace (1-2).
Keep kindness and truth and find favor and good repute (3-4).
Trust in the Lord and He will make the course of your life successful (5-6).
Fear the Lord and it will bring healing to your body (7-8).
Honor the Lord with your wealth and your barns will be filled with plenty (9-10).
The way one acknowledges God in all his ways is by believing and obeying the Law of God rather than trusting and following man’s finite, worldly philosophy for success and happiness. With this elucidation of the writer’s meaning it can be seen that Proverbs 3:5-6 is not dealing with specific guidance into an individual “path” marked out by God. This fact is confirmed by Dr. Bruce Waltke.
All of us have had the shock of discovering that a favorite verse in the King James Version was inaccurate, and hence that we had been led into an inauthentic experience. I recall the astonishment of one of the committee members assigned to translate the Book of Proverbs for the New International Version when he discovered that Proverbs 3:5[-6] had nothing to say about guidance. He had taken as his life text: “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” But when confronted with the linguistic data he had to admit reluctantly that the verse more properly read ” … and He will make your path smooth.”
The true intent of Proverbs 3:5-6 is to set forth a pattern to be followed to experience true success in life-a pattern in which one demonstrates his trust and obedience to God by following the directions of God’s moral will.
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you” (Psalm 32:8).
In the King James Version, the second clause is translated: “I will guide thee with mine eye.” The verb translated “guide” has the sense of “counsel” as it is rendered by the New American Standard Bible above. Such counsel is given in the form of instruction and teaching which represents a kind of guidance. The traditional view understands the speaker to be the Lord who is promising specific guidance in a particular “way”—i.e., the individual will of God.
The speaker could be God. But some respected commentators believe that it is David himself who is speaking. The reason for such an idea stems from the relation that Psalm 32 bears to Psalm 51. Psalm 51 is a prayer for forgiveness and restoration offered by David after his sin with Bathsheba was exposed by God’s prophet. In that prayer, David promised that if God forgave him, he would teach transgressors God’s way (Psalm 51:10-13). Psalm 32 records David’s response when he received word that God’s forgiveness had been granted. What David had promised in Psalm 51:13, he fulfilled in Psalm 32:8.
Again, the “way which you should go” refers to the course of life one should follow. This is the way of righteous living which the Law revealed and David taught.* Even if God is viewed as the speaker, He is seen teaching His way of righteousness. This customary usage fits the context, so an individual will is not in view.
Virtually all commentators struggle with the last phrase “with My eye upon you.” The best explanation seems to be that David is giving counsel to sinners as his eye of concern is upon them.
In all likelihood, if the word “guide” had not been used in the rendering of the King James Version, this verse would never have been used in presentations on guidance. For it is simply reiterating the message of so many other Old Testament passages that describe instruction in the life of righteousness provided by the Law, the moral will of God.
These are just a few examples of Scripture that can have alternative interpretations. With these, we see the possibility that the Bible does not teach that God has an individual will for each person.
If we are to conclude, then, that God does not have a unique plan specifically outlined for each of us, are we to further conclude that God does not provide guidance? Are we to cease looking to Him for help in making decisions? Of course not. On the contrary, His Word establishes four principles by which we can make decisions according to God’s will.
1. The principle of obedience: In those areas specifically addressed by the Bible, the revealed commands and principles of God (His moral will) are to be obeyed.
2. The principle of freedom: In those areas where the Bible gives no command or principle (non-moral decisions), the believer is free and responsible to choose his course of action. Any decision made within the moral will of God is acceptable to God.
3. The principle of wisdom: In nonmoral decisions, the goal of the believer is to make wise decisions on the basis of spiritual expediency.
4. The principle of humility: In all decisions, the believer should humbly accept, in advance, the outworking of God’s sovereign will as it touches each decision.
Garry Friesen former Bible professor at Multnomah School of the Bible, is currently pursuing short-term missions work. J. Robin Maxson is head pastor at United Evangelical Free Church in Clamath Falls, Oregon. This excerpt is from the book Decision Making & the Will of God by Garry Friesen with J. Robin Maxson, copyright 1980 by Multnomah Press. Published by Multnomah Press, Portland, Oregon 97266. And Principles for Decision Making by Garry Friesen with J. Robin Maxson, copyright 1984 by Multnomah Press. Published by Multnomah Press, Portland, Oregon 97266.
Notes
1. Frances Brown. S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, s. v. ” “. See also: C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch. Commentary on the Old Testament. 10 vols. (Grand Rapids: Wm. 8. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,1950). vol. 6: Proverbs. Ecclesiastes. Song of Solomon, by F. Delitzsch. trans. by M. G. Easton, p. 232.
2. Bruce K. Waltke. “Dogmatic Theology and Relative Knowledge.” CRUX 15. no. I (March 1979).
3. Keil and Delitzsch. Commentary on Old Testament. Vol. 2: Biblical Commentary on the Psalms. by F. Delitzsch. trans. by Francis Bolton. p. 398; Joseph Addison Alexander. The Psalms: Translated and Explained (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House. 1975). p. 139.
[1] God’s moral will may be defined as the commands and principles which God has revealed in the Bible to teach how we ought to believe and live.