Customer Reviews

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.

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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

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.

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 lives. Christians need to hear this. At the same time, I noticed a couple flaws with the book:

1. One of Kevin's key points is that moral decisions matter much more than amoral (non-moral) ones. Fair enough, but he tends to downplay the significance of life's biggest amoral decisions such as who to spend your life with and how to serve God through your career/vocation. He almost goes as far as saying that God doesn't particularly care who you marry or what your job is as long as you're living in moral obedience to the Scriptures. In an effort to rouse slothful Christians from their couches (an important goal to be sure), Kevin ends up reducing the will of God to obeying the Bible. In other words, stop worrying about your future spouse, career or ministry calling and work on your personal holiness. This struck me as a false choice while trivializing the sincerity of those who seek God's will in their amoral decisions.

2. Because of Kevin's strict delineation of moral vs. amoral decisions, the role of the Holy Spirit becomes little more than helping us understand and obey the commands of Scripture. As critical as this is, I got the sense that Kevin doesn't put much stock in having a conversational relationship with God in which He actually speaks to us about life's amoral decisions such as one's vocational calling, which school to attend or when to start a family. As I look back on my 29 years, I can see many instances of God's guidance, presence and provision though a variety of "non-moral" decisions that brought me to where I am today. These were not matters of biblical obedience vs. sin, but God was certainly concerned and involved throughout the process.

I stumbled on this book while searching for a present, and the title caught my eye as it seemed do describe me perfectly. Whenever I face a major decision, I pray not just for wisdom on how to make the decision, but for a sign: A dream, a vision, any supernatural occurrence that will give me God's confirmation as to what my next step should be. Unfortunately, God doesn't seem to be in the business of obliging my requests for personalized night-time direct-to-brain broadcasting. Rather than acting on what I logically conclude is the best course of action in a given situation, I freeze and do nothing at all, afraid that if I make the wrong choice, I'll be straying from God's will. The "wait indefinitely, lest I make a mistake" attitude has caused me to waste a lot of time I could have been using to glorify God waiting for answers to decisions that were never going to come.

"Just Do Something" makes a scriptural argument that we've been looking at God's will the wrong way. When we hear that "God has a plan for our life," it doesn't mean there's only one correct option in every circumstance, and that if we choose incorrectly, we'll be derailing God's plan. The book explains a better, biblical way to approach discerning God's will: Using the principles in the Bible and the wisdom God gives us to make our own decisions. The approach applies to marriage, career choices, choosing a place to live, and any of life's big (and small) decisions.

The book is a quick and entertaining read (some of the illustrations are quite funny), and I'm going to recommend it to all of my Christian friends whenever they face an important decision. More than an epiphany, this book gives you solid scriptural support for something you've probably already discovered if you've been waiting for a sign from God before making a life-changing decision: He's not any more likely to tell you where you should live than He is to tell you what pair of socks to wear in the morning. It's freeing to realize there's no decision I can make (as long it's morally correct) that could possibly impede his will for my life.

I purchased this book based on a review I read at discerningreader.com. It is, hands down, the best book I've ever read on discerning the will of God (and I've read several!). It's views are thoroughly based in Scripture and it is written in an engaging and easy to read style. I've purchased several more for our church.

DeYoung's philosophy is simple, "Live for God. Obey the Scriptures. Think of others before yourself. Be holy. Love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like, with whomever you like, wherever you like, and you'll be walking in the will of God.

It is sad that DeYoung's approach will come as novel to many readers. But it is not. This approach is certainly as old as Augustine who essentially said, "Love God and do what you want". Much of this book is given to tearing down the "hyper-spiritual approaches" that don't work. DeYoung also offers some instruction as to what to do--but if you are looking for magical answers you will not find it. His advice is simple--just do something.

This book is well written and extremely helpful. If you are the type that is constantly wondering what God's will is, then you need to buy this book. If you work with teenagers or thirty-somethings that are still looking for direction then buy this book. If you have an adult living in your basement that should have a job, be married, and not living in your basement then perhaps you should slip it in front of their Xbox 360 with a note that says, "Read this!!!"

"I just don't have peace yet."

"God isn't opening any doors."

"I'm not sure which way God is leading my heart."

The more I am in ministry, the more I hear young people echoing some of the above sentiments when it comes to the future. Truth be told, I too have postponed important decisions for some of the same reasons.

The desire to discover the will of God is admirable. But what happens when your expectations for discovering God's will don't ever come to pass?

At the age of 19, when I was wrestling with the decision of buying a one-way ticket to Romania, I went to my pastor for advice. I was waiting for some sort of heavenly confirmation of my plans. My pastor delivered a few gentle words that revolutionized my understanding of God's will: "Trevin, no one wants you to know God's will more than God does."

Liberation! God's will was not some mysterious code I had to decipher. It was a realm in which I could make wise decisions.

Kevin DeYoung's book, 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. (Moody, 2009) will probably have a similar effect on people who pick it up. Just Do Something is a short book (only 120 pages, and small in size) that can easily be read in an hour or two, but it still packs quite a punch.

Kevin gently corrects evangelicalism's often-misguided teaching about the will of God. Lining the shelves of Christian bookstores are books intended to help people discover God's will. Yet, much of the standard advice turns out to be paralyzing to young people. Other books focus on trivial decisions (where to park your car, what outfit to put on, etc.).

Kevin points us back to the sovereingty of God, encouraging us to take comfort in the will of God. The general will of God has been revealed to us. Christians are called to live within that moral framework.

According to Kevin, here is the will of God for our lives:

"God's will for our lives is much simpler than the conventional approach. The will of God for our lives is that we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The most important decision we face is the daily decision to live for Christ and die to self. If we do those two things then we are free to choose between jobs and schools and locations. God wants us to stop obsessing about the future and trust that He holds the future. We should put aside the passivity and the perfectionism and the quest for perfect fulfillment and get on with our lives. God does not have a specific plan for our lives and he means for us to decipher ahead of time." (63)

Kevin writes that God does have a specific plan for our lives, and he is not trying to hide it from us. When we are trusting in God to work out his purposes, we are no longer paralyzed by the fear of making a mistake. Instead, we can "just do something!" We are to do what we believe what God has called us to do with the gifts that God has given us. And even when we are not 100% sure of our decision, we trust that God knows the outcome, and that our life will be part of his sovereign plan.

Kevin's book differs from others on the will of God because he chooses to focus less on discerning the "specific plan" for your personal life and more on the cultivation of wisdom. We don't make decisions based on signs and circumstances as much as we make decisions based on biblical wisdom. Instead of asking for revelation from God as to what you should do, ask for the wisdom from God to be able to make the right kind of decisions.

Just Do Something would make a great Graduation gift for the young people in our churches. And yet, anyone of any age can benefit from the teaching here. Kevin's book frees us from passivity and paralysis. He calls us to get on with the task of "doing something" to the glory of God.

As a pastor, I am often approached by people struggling with anxiety over how to determine what God wants them to do with their lives. This book is the best little theology of knowing the will of God for your life that I've read.

The emphasis on Wisdom over personal revelation is the remedy which will keep many from making impulsive, foolish life decisions. Wisdom is so often overlooked as a resource available to the Christian. James tells us to ask of God who gives it away freely, and Solomon says we should seek it above jewels. Indeed, when Solomon was faced with leading a nation, he asked for wisdom to know right from wrong and to lead a people.

Christians often wrongly associate spiritual guidance with a subjective ability to "hear" got talking to them in your emotions or intuition. "I think God wants us to move to Florida." Why? "I'm not sure. I just think I hear God saying this." That might sound spiritual, but it is not wise. The author speaks well in favor of wisdom.

He also sets out a peace-producing theology of God's sovereign guidance for our lives. Instead of of us wondering if God is trying to give us hard to read signs so that we don't fall off of a singular path that He has for us, but that is hard to discern, the author points out that God WANTS to make it simple for us to complete His plan for us, and that His sovereignty is to be depended upon instead of some intuitive divining rod.

Great book.

emember the book We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be? Well, DeYoung was one of the authors. This time he is writing solo. It's not a big book, but it is a useful one.

He is tackling topic of seeking God's will for your life. Too many Christian's have wasted months and years trying to figure out something which is clearly in the bible for them. I have taught on this topic many times and DeYoung follows the same line of thought I have. The scriptures clearly tell us what God's will for our life is - to grow in Godliness - to serve Christ - to tell others about him etc, etc. In fact, too many Christians have spent years trying to figure out which job they should take to the neglect of the commands of the Bible. DeYoung rightly turns this on its head. God wants us to to focus on those things which are important - the growing in faith, godliness, fruits of the spirit etc - not on which job or college you should go to. In fact God does not really care which job you take as long as you DO that job to best of your ability and to glorify Christ. If in doubt, seek to obey God's commands in everything you do - and then just DO something.

I liked this book. And I think its a great book to give teens.