Take that

My sister gave me my birthday presents this weekend. My birthday was in January. That's all cool, though, because I'm probably the worst gift giver ever, so I expect a little karma here.

One of the books she got me is awesome. It's by Kevin DeYoung, and it's called "Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will OR How to Make a Decision without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Impressions, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, Etc."

I'm only halfway through, and I'm loving it. For anyone who's ever struggled with "finding God's will," I super recommend this book. I know it's put some sizable dents in lies I believe about God and His will. And for anyone who's ever felt stressed about finding God's will, who's felt a burden of discovery on them, DeYoung's points are liberating.

One of my fav passages so far (and there are a few of them) -- "Just to be clear, God does not hide things from His people. There are lots of scenarios we don't know, lots of mysteries we can't figure out. There is a will of decree that is not usually known to the people of God (Deuteronomy 29:29). But He is not trying to confuse us or hide truth. In the conventional view of God's will, however, we get the impression that He not only hides His will from us, but He then expects us to find it. So we obsess over God's will of direction, eventually getting frustrated with God for not showing us what He wants. We end up disappointed with ourselves or angry with God because we can't seem to figure out how to find God's will for our lives (46)... We walk by faith, not by sight. We risk because God does not risk. We walk into the future in God-glorifying confidence not because the future is known to us but because it is known to God (48)."

So if you're interested in God, His will, or theology in general, pick up this book. If only because he has some hilarious things to say about relationships too. Or feel free to disagree with me.

And yes, I did decide what I'm doing next year. :)