Finding the Answer v. Being the Answer

This is a guest post by Andy Whisenant.

I love to read. (I guess it helps that I work at a bookstore.) It feeds my addiction.

If you walk into any bookstore and head to the Christian book section, you’ll likely find,

• A wide assortment of fiction titles (most of which are westerns or ones that take place in a Mennonite community).
• Several books guaranteeing you that God’s desire for your life is to be rich and happy all the time.
• A few books from authors that claim that they have unlocked the secret to knowing when the world is going to end.

Another group of books you’ll likely find includes books all about finding God’s will for your life, complete with formulas and fill-in-the-blanks. It’s all tied up really well in a nice package with a cool cover and a catchy title.

Finding the Formula

For a long time, I thought that was how I was going to find out God’s will for my life. It’s got to be in one of these formulas, right? God’s going to clearly show me what job to take, who to marry, where to live, and how many kids to have, right? I just fill in the blanks in the workbook or take a personality test and *POOF* there’s my answer.

Not so much. Which drives me crazy sometimes, because I always want to know the game plan. I want to know what I’m supposed to do.

I think that we might be asking the wrong question in all of these books we read. Asking “What is God’s will for my life?” puts the focus on me and on what I can do.

But I think there’s a better question to ask: “What is God’s will?” Doesn’t sound all that different, but when I ask that simple question, I know that I already have an answer…it’s spelled out very clearly in Scripture. We know what the heart of God is when we read things like,

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

Then Jesus says things like this,

‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Details, Details, Details

Yeah. God’s not going to come right out in Scripture and tell me who my future wife is going to be (although that would be nice to know!) He’s not going to spell out all the details of my life. He said He would speak through the Holy Spirit and through the wise counsel of other believers as we walk through questions about life. He’s not going to just leave me hanging.

I’m starting to become less interested in finding the answer to what God’s will for my life is and more interested in being God’s will to the world. Acting justly and loving mercy and loving my neighbor.