Just Do Something: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. (Paperback)

~ (Author), Joshua Harris (Foreword)
Key Phrases: directionally challenged, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, God's Word (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Hyper-spiritual approaches to finding God's will don't work. It's time to try something new: Give up.

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung counsels Christians to settle down, make choices, and do the hard work of seeing those choices through. Too often, he writes, God's people tinker around with churches, jobs, and relationships, worrying that they haven't found God's perfect will for their lives. Or—even worse—they do absolutely nothing, stuck in a frustrated state of paralyzed indecision, waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for clear, direct, unmistakable direction.

But God doesn't need to tell us what to do at each fork in the road. He's already revealed his plan for our lives: to love him with our whole hearts, to obey His Word, and after that, to do what we like.

No need for hocus-pocus. No reason to be directionally challenged. Just do something.

About the Author

Kevin DeYoung is senior pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, across the street from Michigan State University. A graduate of Hope College and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, he is the co-author of Why We're Not Emergent and author of Freedom and Boundaries. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have three children: Ian, Jacob, and Elizabeth.

---

Product Details Paperback: 128 pages Publisher: Moody Publishers; 1 edition (April 1, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0802458386 ISBN-13: 978-0802458384 Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.4 inches Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,946 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #13 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion #94 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology

---

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Kevin DeYoung Page

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
directionally challenged

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, God's Word, Old Testament, Word of God, John Newton, Christ Jesus

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	88% buy the item featured on this page: Just Do Something: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. 4.6 out of 5 stars (32) $7.91
	3% buy Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be 4.4 out of 5 stars (56) $10.19
	3% buy Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching and Learning the Greatness of God 4.9 out of 5 stars (10) $10.87
	3% buy Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion 4.6 out of 5 stars (13) $10.19

Explore similar items

---

Tags Customers Associate with This Product  (What's this?) Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people. Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.  christianity(10) decision making(9) will of god(9) wisdom(8) biblical(7) decision-making(7) decisions(6) kevin deyoung(6) joshua harris(4) career(2) reformed(2) See all 23 tags... Your tags: Add your first tag

Search Products Tagged with   See most popular tags

---

 

Customer Reviews

32 Reviews 5 star:  (27) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review 4.6 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 62 of 63 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Buy One For Yourself and One to Give Away, April 8, 2009 By  Tim Challies (Oakville, Ontario) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    To be honest, I don't know that we really need another book--yet another book--on guidance and the will of God. Having said that, there is probably no genre of book I recommend more often than this simply because experience shows that many Christians, too many Christians, do not understand how God expects us to know his will and how we may expect him to guide us to those things that please him. We are blessed to have some excellent resources at our disposal. The best known of these is Garry Friesen's Decision Making and the Will of God, a book that many of the others depend on, but one that is perhaps a little intimidating due to its size (528 pages in the most recent edition). Dave Swavely's Decisions, Decisions is the one I recommend most often as it serves as a useful condensed version of Friesen's work. Similar titles have been written by John MacArthur, Bruce Waltke, J.I. Packer, Phillip Jensen and many, many others. The author who seeks to add something to this genre is entering into a very crowded field and is going to need a unique angle. Kevin DeYoung takes on this challenge and succeeds admirably, crafting a short but powerful book that really packs a punch. His unique angle is reflected in the title: Just Do Something! "My goal," he says, "is not as much to tell you how to hear God's voice in making decisions as it is to hear God telling you to get off the long road to nowhere and finally make a decision, get a job, and perhaps, get married." He fears that many Christians, because of their unbliblical understanding of knowing and doing the will of God, are wasting their lives doing nothing when they should just be doing, well, something! "I'd like us to consider that maybe we have difficulty discovering Gods wonderful plan for our lives because, if the truth be told, He doesn't really intend to tell us what it is. And maybe we're wrong to expect Him to." DeYoung's understanding of the will of God and God's guidance is very consistent with Friesen and Swavely and a whole host of others. He distinguishes between God's secret will (or will of decree), God's revealed will (will of desire) and God's will for our lives (will of direction). God's will of decree is his secret will, ordained from all of time--a will that is going to come to pass and that no man can thwart. God's will of desire is his will as revealed in Scripture--a will we sometimes obey and at other times disobey. God's will of direction is the one that answers those questions we have about jobs and spouses and houses and all the rest. Here's the real heart of the matter, according to DeYoung. "Does God have a secret will of direction that He expects us to figure out before we do anything? And the answer is no." Though we are free to ask for his direction and though we ought to be devoted to prayer in all matters, God does not burden us with seeking his will of direction ahead of our decisions. "God does have a specific plan for our lives, but it is not one that He expects us to figure out before we make a decision." "Trusting in God's will of decree is good. Following his will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God's will of direction is a mess." The solution is simple: we are to have confidence in God's hidden will, we are to search out and believe and obey God's will, and we are then to use wisdom to make decisions that God will bless. We are to use what Dave Swavely aptly terms "sanctified reasoning." DeYoung leaves the reader to consider this: "If there really is a perfect will of God we are meant to discover, in which we will find tremendous freedom and fulfillment, why does it seem that everyone looking for God's will is in such bondage and confusion?" Here, then, is how we are to live within God's will: "So go marry someone, provided you're equally yoked and you actually like being with each other. Go get a job, provided it's not wicked. Go live somewhere in something with somebody or nobody. But put aside the passivity and the quest for complete fulfillment and the perfectionism and the preoccupation with the future, and for God's sake start making some decisions in your life. Don't wait for the liver-shiver. If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God's will, so just go out and do something." God's will for your life is really not as complicated as you may be making it out to be. The book has occasional spots of appropriate levity. Writing about a young man whose affection for a woman was not reciprocated because "the Holy Spirit told me no," DeYoung writes, "Poor guy--he got rejected, not only by this sweet girl, but by the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Trinity took a break from pointing people to Jesus to tell this girl not to date my roommate." Pastoral throughout, DeYoung also covers the kinds of topics that people ask in relation to God's will--issues related to work and wedlock. In a concluding chapter that certainly does not detract from the book even if it does not seem to add a whole lot, he pays tribute to his grandfather who has lived a long and productive life for God's glory without ever concerning himself with discovering God's hidden will. In a brief Foreword, Joshua Harris says that this is his new go-to book on the subject of God's will and decision making. I am inclined to agree with him, at least for those who are looking for a kind of entry level book. Friesen is still the most thorough and the one who lays the foundation, but this title is certainly much easier to read and much more likely to be read. I am quite convinced that any Christian who reads Just Do Something will benefit from it. I unreservedly recommend that you do just that. 30 of 30 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars I was suprised and challenged, April 18, 2009 By  Derrick A. Jeror (Corning, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    I purchased this book hoping that I could use it to give to friends who I felt were a little off the deep end. Those friends that want God to write a bulleted list of instructions for them in Alphabet soup before they make any big life decisions. I was in for a surprise. After reading the first few chapters I started to feel convicted myself. I realized that my "far superior" methods of determining the will of God were based just as much off of fairy tails and pixy dust as my friends I considered a little nuts. I was convicted over my lack of desire to grow in Godly wisdom which then guides and directs our decisions. Instead of growing in wisdom I myself have depended on the "open door" "shut door" method of "finding" God's will. God does have a plan for your life, but it's not your job to sneak into his back office and try to find your file that lets you in on all the "secrets". God's not hiding something from you! This book just joined the list of top 5 favorite books. I am giving the copy I have away and buying a couple more copies. 1 for me and one to loan out to friends. Oh and kudos to Josh Harris on the forward. He really had me going the first paragraph, I thought he had lost it. Shout out to all of my Sovereign Grace Ministries peeps! Follow my Twitter at www.twitter.com/djeror 19 of 19 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Freeing, April 15, 2009 By  Crestviewer (CO, USA) - See all my reviews    The core theme of this book is refreshing and freeing. In brief, Kevin knows God's will for you and me: "that we live holy, set-apart lives" (pg 58, from I Thes. 4.3). We should pursue that and, well, do stuff. Live in wisdom and be sensitive to God's guidance. Don't live paralyzed and unable to take risks. And don't exist in fear of missing God's perfect plan (for he's not playing I'll Hide and You Seek My Will with us). I was involved in the publishing of this book, and I saw it at every stage of development...yet I couldn't help but pick it up and re-read it when my finished copy arrived. Just Do Something is good and timely - a message that I need to be reminded of. Kevin's writing is clear and engaging. He uses stories and examples to effectively make points, and the text is rooted in scripture. Some humor is mixed in, but it doesn't come at the expense of the significant points that he's making. For people like me - often weighed-down with life decisions and faced with innumerable choices on a daily basis - I can't recommend Kevin's balanced and biblical wisdom highly enough.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Finally Free I stumbled upon this book and am so happy that I did. It's an amazing and refreshing way of looking at God's will for your life. No more agonizing over decisions. Read more Published 7 days ago by Denene 5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly un-fluffy This is a great little book on the will of God -- what it is and, more important, what it's not. DeYoung challenges Christians, particularly young adults, to get on with life... Read more Published 12 days ago by K.M. 5.0 out of 5 stars A Sane Look at Decision Making and the Will of God This is a very straight forward, sane approach to making God-honoring and Christ glorifying decisions. Read more Published 16 days ago by Marc Axelrod 5.0 out of 5 stars A Better Way A while back, I had the opportunity to transfer; the move would put us nearer to extended family. There were advantages to going and advantages to staying. Read more Published 24 days ago by John A. Bird 5.0 out of 5 stars Solid advice: Just Do Something I love this book. It's an easy and entertaining read that helps shape a way of thinking about decisions that is solidly biblical and truly liberating. Read more Published 1 month ago by Steven M. McCarthy 5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read! My pastor read an excerpt from this book during one of his sermons and I thought it sounded good so I ordered it from Amazon.com and read it in 4 days... Read more Published 1 month ago by C, S. Fowler 5.0 out of 5 stars A strong pick for spiritual readers God gave us free will for a reason. "Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will" approaches the intentions of God with a shocking new strategy - to not try to... Read more Published 1 month ago by Midwest Book Review 3.0 out of 5 stars Liberating, but flawed I read this book recently and found it to be a liberating counterbalance to the hyper-cautious and fearful notion that our day-to-day decisions can screw up God's plan for our... Read more Published 2 months ago by D. Stringer 5.0 out of 5 stars Freedom in Finding God's Will "I just don't have peace yet." "God isn't opening any doors." "I'm not sure which way God is leading my heart. Read more Published 2 months ago by Trevin Wax 5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read As a Christian honestly struggling with how to find God's will in my life, this book was a breath of fresh air. Read more Published 2 months ago by M. Skelton Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

---

Customer Discussions

This product's forum Discussion Replies Latest Post No discussions yet Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   Guidelines Active discussions in related forums Discussion Replies Latest Post religion A question for the various Christians, Catholics, Evangelicals, etc. who've wandered through the Religion Forum at one time or another. 35 22 seconds ago christianity Marriage 33 54 seconds ago religion Mormons and Catholics Preventing Gays' Equal Rights 532 56 seconds ago religious studies Cleric - the ultimate non-job in the world? 11 1 minute ago christianity I'm a Southern Baptist minister and I embrace the Book of Mormon 365 1 minute ago christianity Christian Denominations 58 3 minutes ago religious studies Why are religious histories always about the male characters? 139 6 days ago Search Customer Discussions Search all Amazon discussions

The Christianity community Latest activity 25 minutes ago 24,398 customers have contributed 26,916 products, 1,023 discussions and more... › Explore the community The Decision Making community Latest activity 3 hours ago 1,534 customers have contributed 706 products, 159 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The Wisdom community Latest activity 2 hours ago 1,625 customers have contributed 1,224 products, 105 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community Related forums christianity (1023 discussions) decision making (3 discussions) religion (1023 discussions) religious... (12 discussions) will of god wisdom (1 discussion) Explore more › See all Customer Communities › Your communities

---

Listmania!

Bible Study Tools: A list by P. E. Marshall "Reference Guy"   T4G Book Recomendations: A list by Halal "Reader & keeper of books"   Favorite Books: A list by David B Englund Create a Listmania! list

Search Listmania!

---

So You'd Like to...

Understand the Emerging Church Movement (Updated 2007): A guide by praxishabitus "reader, researcher, reflector" Create a guide

Search Guides

---

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.

› See featured Amapedia.com articles

---

Look for Similar Items by Category

• Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian Living
• Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology
• Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion

---

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:
Christian Life
Religion
Religion - Christian Life
Christian Life - Personal Growth
Religion / Christian Life / Personal Growth
Christian Theology - General
Comparative Religion
Discernment (Christian theology)
God (Christianity)
Religious life
Will
Young adults


i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Ad feedback

 

Feedback If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? Is there any other feedback you would like to provide? Your comments can help make our site better for everyone. Please note that we are unable to respond directly to all feedback submitted via this form, but we'll ask you to sign in so we can contact you if needed.

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

› View and edit your browsing history

Get to Know Us Careers Investor Relations Press Releases Amazon and Our Planet Make Money with Us Sell on Amazon Join Associates Self-publish with Us › See all Let Us Help You Shipping Rates & Policies Amazon Prime Returns Help

Canada | China | France | Germany | Japan | United Kingdom  And don't forget: Amazon Windowshop | AmazonWireless | Askville | Audible | DPReview | Endless | IMDb | Shopbop | SoundUnwound | Warehouse Deals by Amazon | Zappos Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers; 1 edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802458386
• ISBN-13: 978-0802458384
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,946 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #13 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion
  #94 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy One For Yourself and One to Give Away, April 8, 2009

By	Tim Challies (Oakville, Ontario) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

To be honest, I don't know that we really need another book--yet another book--on guidance and the will of God. Having said that, there is probably no genre of book I recommend more often than this simply because experience shows that many Christians, too many Christians, do not understand how God expects us to know his will and how we may expect him to guide us to those things that please him. We are blessed to have some excellent resources at our disposal. The best known of these is Garry Friesen's Decision Making and the Will of God, a book that many of the others depend on, but one that is perhaps a little intimidating due to its size (528 pages in the most recent edition). Dave Swavely's Decisions, Decisions is the one I recommend most often as it serves as a useful condensed version of Friesen's work. Similar titles have been written by John MacArthur, Bruce Waltke, J.I. Packer, Phillip Jensen and many, many others.

The author who seeks to add something to this genre is entering into a very crowded field and is going to need a unique angle. Kevin DeYoung takes on this challenge and succeeds admirably, crafting a short but powerful book that really packs a punch. His unique angle is reflected in the title: Just Do Something! "My goal," he says, "is not as much to tell you how to hear God's voice in making decisions as it is to hear God telling you to get off the long road to nowhere and finally make a decision, get a job, and perhaps, get married." He fears that many Christians, because of their unbliblical understanding of knowing and doing the will of God, are wasting their lives doing nothing when they should just be doing, well, something! "I'd like us to consider that maybe we have difficulty discovering Gods wonderful plan for our lives because, if the truth be told, He doesn't really intend to tell us what it is. And maybe we're wrong to expect Him to."

DeYoung's understanding of the will of God and God's guidance is very consistent with Friesen and Swavely and a whole host of others. He distinguishes between God's secret will (or will of decree), God's revealed will (will of desire) and God's will for our lives (will of direction). God's will of decree is his secret will, ordained from all of time--a will that is going to come to pass and that no man can thwart. God's will of desire is his will as revealed in Scripture--a will we sometimes obey and at other times disobey. God's will of direction is the one that answers those questions we have about jobs and spouses and houses and all the rest. Here's the real heart of the matter, according to DeYoung. "Does God have a secret will of direction that He expects us to figure out before we do anything? And the answer is no." Though we are free to ask for his direction and though we ought to be devoted to prayer in all matters, God does not burden us with seeking his will of direction ahead of our decisions. "God does have a specific plan for our lives, but it is not one that He expects us to figure out before we make a decision." "Trusting in God's will of decree is good. Following his will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God's will of direction is a mess." The solution is simple: we are to have confidence in God's hidden will, we are to search out and believe and obey God's will, and we are then to use wisdom to make decisions that God will bless. We are to use what Dave Swavely aptly terms "sanctified reasoning." DeYoung leaves the reader to consider this: "If there really is a perfect will of God we are meant to discover, in which we will find tremendous freedom and fulfillment, why does it seem that everyone looking for God's will is in such bondage and confusion?"

Here, then, is how we are to live within God's will: "So go marry someone, provided you're equally yoked and you actually like being with each other. Go get a job, provided it's not wicked. Go live somewhere in something with somebody or nobody. But put aside the passivity and the quest for complete fulfillment and the perfectionism and the preoccupation with the future, and for God's sake start making some decisions in your life. Don't wait for the liver-shiver. If you are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you will be in God's will, so just go out and do something." God's will for your life is really not as complicated as you may be making it out to be.

The book has occasional spots of appropriate levity. Writing about a young man whose affection for a woman was not reciprocated because "the Holy Spirit told me no," DeYoung writes, "Poor guy--he got rejected, not only by this sweet girl, but by the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Trinity took a break from pointing people to Jesus to tell this girl not to date my roommate." Pastoral throughout, DeYoung also covers the kinds of topics that people ask in relation to God's will--issues related to work and wedlock. In a concluding chapter that certainly does not detract from the book even if it does not seem to add a whole lot, he pays tribute to his grandfather who has lived a long and productive life for God's glory without ever concerning himself with discovering God's hidden will.

In a brief Foreword, Joshua Harris says that this is his new go-to book on the subject of God's will and decision making. I am inclined to agree with him, at least for those who are looking for a kind of entry level book. Friesen is still the most thorough and the one who lays the foundation, but this title is certainly much easier to read and much more likely to be read. I am quite convinced that any Christian who reads Just Do Something will benefit from it. I unreservedly recommend that you do just that.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was suprised and challenged, April 18, 2009

By	Derrick A. Jeror (Corning, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this book hoping that I could use it to give to friends who I felt were a little off the deep end. Those friends that want God to write a bulleted list of instructions for them in Alphabet soup before they make any big life decisions. I was in for a surprise. After reading the first few chapters I started to feel convicted myself. I realized that my "far superior" methods of determining the will of God were based just as much off of fairy tails and pixy dust as my friends I considered a little nuts. I was convicted over my lack of desire to grow in Godly wisdom which then guides and directs our decisions. Instead of growing in wisdom I myself have depended on the "open door" "shut door" method of "finding" God's will. God does have a plan for your life, but it's not your job to sneak into his back office and try to find your file that lets you in on all the "secrets". God's not hiding something from you!

This book just joined the list of top 5 favorite books. I am giving the copy I have away and buying a couple more copies. 1 for me and one to loan out to friends.

Oh and kudos to Josh Harris on the forward. He really had me going the first paragraph, I thought he had lost it.

Shout out to all of my Sovereign Grace Ministries peeps!

Follow my Twitter at www.twitter.com/djeror

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful and Freeing, April 15, 2009

By	Crestviewer (CO, USA) - See all my reviews

The core theme of this book is refreshing and freeing. In brief, Kevin knows God's will for you and me: "that we live holy, set-apart lives" (pg 58, from I Thes. 4.3). We should pursue that and, well, do stuff. Live in wisdom and be sensitive to God's guidance. Don't live paralyzed and unable to take risks. And don't exist in fear of missing God's perfect plan (for he's not playing I'll Hide and You Seek My Will with us).

I was involved in the publishing of this book, and I saw it at every stage of development...yet I couldn't help but pick it up and re-read it when my finished copy arrived. Just Do Something is good and timely - a message that I need to be reminded of. Kevin's writing is clear and engaging. He uses stories and examples to effectively make points, and the text is rooted in scripture. Some humor is mixed in, but it doesn't come at the expense of the significant points that he's making.

For people like me - often weighed-down with life decisions and faced with innumerable choices on a daily basis - I can't recommend Kevin's balanced and biblical wisdom highly enough.