What Does God Want Me To Do?

Welcome to another week of everyday

disciples. I'm Matthew Starner, and I'm so glad that you're here

with us again this week. Have you ever been faced with a big

decision in life? And you've wondered, What does God want me

to do here? Is there a right choice when it comes to

something like where to live? Or, or who to marry or where to

go to college? That's what we're asking today. In our first

segment, we'll sit down with Aiden and CJ to talk about

knowing God's will, especially when it comes to these big

questions in life. In our second segment, we'll talk with Pastor

Rob about freewill. When it comes to these sorts of

decisions. Can we make choices? Or does God have it all planned

out in advance? We got lots of great stuff ahead. Let's dig in.

Well, we're sitting down once again, here with Aiden and CJ,

talking today about another kind of spiritual, what question

spiritual practice of of knowing God's will. Oftentimes in life,

there's lots of different situations that come up where

people might be inclined to try to discover God's will if you

guys eat, have you ever been in a position like that? Where you

like, wanted to know God's will for something,

junior senior year of college, when I was deciding,

Oh, should I become a teacher like I had been studying and

planning on? Or should I go into ministry? And that was one that

I was, it was a few months of me being like, I don't know which

one I should do. And then it was over the course of time and some

conversations and like, it kind of came to the surface like no,

this is like, ministry seems like the the path that I want to

take, but it wasn't like some Thunderbolt moment like a

burning bush. Yeah, go be a pastor. That was That didn't

happen, for me at least. But it was it was a long process.

I think there's kind of like, almost on an everyday

basis, you are at least I kind of wonder is this God's will? Is

this decisions, God, God's will. But I guess a big one is more, I

guess work is always a question that you you think of education.

I mean, people have careers. But more and more, I feel like

people in the world are changing careers. And I think that's a

lot. A big one that people just want to do. God's will,

especially a person of the church, you're just not sure if

you're following that and you want to I feel like it's a lot

of people's thought process.

I think it seems like it's it's those big

kind of things that at least in my experience, those have been

the things where, where people all of a sudden think like, ooh,

this this, this has potential to change things pretty, pretty

big. Maybe I need to figure out what God what God wants me to do

here. Things like you just said of job or education or where to

live? Or should I move across the world or something? Should I

go on a big mission trip, or change my calling in my life or

something, get married or have kids? Those big life altering

moments maybe are where the places were maybe most open to

hearing God's will or wanting to know. I just sort of had this

thought as we're talking about it like so is that is it because

it's such a big thing that we we recognize it has the potential

to screw things up and so that if I can get God to tell me what

it is, then that I don't have the responsibility for it is

that maybe one aspect of where that comes from? Probably. I'm

sure that's gonna be true in my life of the like, holy moly,

this has the ability to wreck things. If this goes poorly. I

want to make sure that it doesn't. So let's make sure that

God says this is the right way.

Yeah, a lot of times we we seek God's will, when it's

on. Like you said, Matt, like those big matters, things like

your job, your relationships, like your calling vocation. It's

like the things the big life things that you're just like, I

just want to know what to do. And like it causes anxiety. So

like, I'm gonna just take the anxiety away and like, tell me

what you want me to do? Sure. It's not like the the trivial

things like, you don't seek God's will for like, what shirt

should I wear today? Right? Like, where should I? Where

should I go to dinner tonight? Or like how? Like, how which gas

station should I go to? To get gas like those are really the

ones you seek God's will for? Not to say he doesn't care about

the thing. He probably like I'm sure he really does. But I'm

sure if he if you asked him that and he was right there with you

probably like, which? Well, it's some of what you're

even saying starts to get at. Like, it

reveals a little bit for me of how you view God and His

relationship to you and the things that happen in your life.

Yes. How how granular a level Does God care about the details

of our life? For some folks, if we put it in in terms of

metaphors, one of the probably the most common that that I've

run up against and I don't know that people necessarily put it

in these words, but they come at it with the idea of like God has

a blueprint for my life, where everything is spelled out. Down.

If you've ever looked at blueprints you know, they're

very detailed, they will tell you exactly where everything

needs to be exactly the size. You know, what the components

are made out of colors, finishes, all that sort of

things. And that sounds, it sounds like a great thing. And

it sounds like a true thing from what we know about God, like God

knows everything. So I'm never going to make a move in life

that God is surprised by. But when you actually put that into

practice, and like live that live in that world for a minute,

as if that's real, that's a horrifying thing, right?

Because, because if you screw up one of the first steps in that

blueprint, like if the foundation is not laid

correctly, and you got off, the whole place is gonna fall down,

or you got to rip the whole thing down and start over. If

there's like, if you're talking about a blueprint for like a

house or a building, if there is a, an important beam that is not

in the right place, if it's six inches off, like that could be

devastating to the house. It's got to be where it's got to be.

And in your life, it's like if I make a wrong turn somewhere,

years ago, before I even came to know who Jesus was, and now I've

been going down this road of the wrong way for a minute. Am I so

far away from the blueprint for the God had for my life? Is that

just is that unachievable? Now, that's, that's a scary thing. It

even sort of sounds scriptural. Because if you go one of the one

of the verses that we're coming up on, on confirmation season

here before long, and the, the kids will be picking their

confirmation verses, if they haven't already, they might have

already done that. One of the, someone's going to have this

people, for I know I, for I know, the plans I have for you,

declares the LORD plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope. And a future like that sounds like God

has blueprints right there. And I love the the pastor inside me

kind of kind of loves breaking people's misconceptions about

say what we think they're saying to us, we've maybe pinned some

things on them that they weren't meant to carry. And when we look

at those words, in context like that, those are great words and

comforting words that God speaks to Israel at a moment when

they're getting carried off into captivity. And before that, he

tells them settle in, because y'all aren't going anywhere,

you're going into captivity, it's your kids that are going to

be coming back. So settle in with the enemy there, get

married, have kids and prepare for the long haul, because this

isn't gonna be fun. You guys have screwed up. And so here we

go. But I have plans that ultimately are going to be

fulfilled through this, and God's gonna come out of it.

Like, that's a great promise from God doesn't mean that,

like, our life is going to be a cakewalk and, and super easy.

And I would say it also doesn't even necessarily mean that God

has everything predetermined that we get no freedom in life.

And, and that if I choose Option A or Option B, when it comes to

where to live, or who to marry, or where to go to school, that

I've derailed those plans.

Yeah. I think if I may be so bold, I think one of

the reasons we inside the church like seeking God's Will isn't a

great thing. And something you should pray deeply about, and

like, have good conversations with trusted mentors and friends

and people who, you know, care for you. Like, good thing do

that. I'm encouraging that all the way. Yeah.

Don't don't hear in this conversation. That

like, that's a bad thing to seek God's well, we should do that.

Yes.

But where we'll be bold, though, is and because

this something I've I've wrestled with, in my faith last

like a couple of years, is I think we we have this ingrained

in our mind so much that as Christians, we need to deny

ourselves and it's true, we need to take up our cross, you know,

die to our flesh daily. But we also feel like in order to be

good Christians, we need to, like deny our desires that God

has given us even and really kind of just be like, well, I

you know, we can get more into this in the whole like,

singleness topic, but I think 111 That I have heard a lot from

like my friends growing up, is like, oh, I want to get married.

But like, what if it's not God's will? For me? It's like, Well,

do you feel like you have the desire or like, do you feel like

God has given you this? Like, do you feel like this is what he's

calling you to? And saying like, No, it's okay, well, then you

have a good desire. It's a healthy desire to have that.

Like, go from there. You don't have to Okay, well, if I'm

single at 27 oak, I guess I'm just gonna be single forever.

That's what God's plan for me it's like maybe not, maybe it is

but maybe not. In like, it's gonna take a lot of discernment.

It's gonna take some long time thinking and, and really seeking

God's wisdom and His presence, but also the presence of people

he's put around you, and who God is trying to speak into your

life like the people and the voices that we have in our

lives, can say a lot about what God's will is for our lives

because we do trust them because we are inviting them in

difficult parts of our life. but also like big monumental ones as

well. Sure.

And along that, so I think, healthy way of

seeking God's will, and trying to understand what his will is

for our life, because yes, he does have a will for us, he does

have desires for us. I've liked the metaphor better, instead of

a blueprint of thinking about it in terms of a game plan, where

you know, game plan it, ultimately you want to win the

game. And you might have different plays, or different

different things set up that that you want to do. But it's

always evolving, it's always changing, because you've got so

many moving pieces, so many moving parts, that you got to

make changes on the fly, you have to be ready for that. And

sometimes you got to throw out the play all together and do

something new. Because you know what the goal is, and you just

got to work with the situation you're dealt with in that

moment. And so, when it comes to our Christian walk, what's the

endgame? What's the goal of the game

to be with Jesus, I mean, to follow Jesus to, to

love others as ourselves. I mean, we have one calling. We

have more than one calling, but our main calling is to be

followers of Jesus and spread the gospel. And ultimately, I

think that is God's will for us.

Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, love God, love

your neighbor. Tell him about God. You know, those are things

we know God wants for all of us. That's God's will for us. I

think there's, there's all sorts of other things that we can look

at two different ways we can articulate what it means to to

be a follower of Jesus. And it's living in that relationship with

him. But does God necessarily care? Who you marry?

I think as long as you approach it perfectly, not

necessarily. I don't think I think that I think to an extent,

but it's not gonna make or break your salvation necessarily.

For sure, I think, I would say like, does he

care? Yeah. He, I think he cares that we are equally yoked. That

it's a, it's a person that we can share our faith with, share

our life with. But that could be lots of people. You know, it's

not like there is a one particular person and if you get

the wrong one, just go back to that blueprint thing for a

second. And the marriage thing, if you marry the wrong person,

you screw up the entire world. Because now they can't marry the

person, they were supposed to be married to that person that was

married to somebody, it's just a domino thing that just like, if

you literally play that out, it just

all falls apart. And that's a level of pressure that

God is not going to put on you. Right, right,

that my choices in this life should not directly

affect the rest of the world. Cuz that will end bad for

anybody. That's just not a good thing. Yeah,

I think you made a good point, man, like, Does God

care about these decisions? Absolutely. He does. Because

he's got me sees you as a son or a daughter. And so he loves you

and cares, of course, is he going to? Is he going to

micromanage your entire life meticulously just pick

everything that you're going to do forever? Because it's for

your own good? It's no, I think God has a level of trust in us.

And that agency and that freewill that we have to make

the decisions in our lives. Yes, seeking as well is absolutely a

good thing. But at the same time, you don't have to stress

like if I make the wrong decision, I'm going to lose

favor love of God, you're not going to.

And that's where it really like is cashed.

So much of life just comes back to discipleship. God doesn't

care who I marry, he carries what kind of he cares what kind

of a spouse I am. He doesn't care where I work. He cares how

I am as a worker, am I a person of integrity? Am I an honest

person, a hard worker, like he cares about those things, you

can do that anywhere. In any job, you can bounce around 100

different jobs if you want. And that that's the stuff that it's

like man that is so freeing, when we grasp that, that God, in

a sense, doesn't care in that there's not one particular thing

for all of us that we need to do. He just wants us to be good

Christians, wherever we are, whatever that role brings us to.

And when we grasp that, life gets so much easier, so much

freer. And it takes the pressure off of making sure that that

next step is the exact right one. That's not to say that

sometimes we don't need to really consider what that next

step should be. But to prayerfully approach that and if

A and B both seem reasonable, I can love God I can love neighbor

and both of those things. And I get to flip a coin or I get to

decide, however I want to decide and go forward With a good

conscience knowing I remember God wants me. Good stuff was

good conversation guys, I hope that you listening in have been

challenged a little bit. And I hope this this influences the

way you think about your next steps that maybe you have to

take as you're seeking God's will for your life.

Well, welcome back to another episode of everyday disciples.

And I'm once again joined here by Pastor Rob appaled. Everybody

to do a deep dive here, talking about free will, and God's will

and how those things work. We, we were joking before we started

here that this should be like a 10 minute conversation, right?

We can, we might not even need the full time that we have to

talk about this. It's such an easy thing, but

much ink has been spilled lots of some blood over

this topic. Sure.

Yeah. The whole idea of whether or not we have

free will, is something that is a long conversation that the

church has been having theologians and Christians have

been having about what does it mean to have free will? So maybe

we just start by by talking about that of when we when we

use those words. So people talk about you know, we have

freewill. What what do people mean by that? What, what does?

Like, what are theologians mean by that? Because maybe we use

those differently?

Well, good question. And so I think, when it comes to

theology, does, do humans choose God? Choose to follow God or

not? Are and when? When does when does that choice? Part of

life happen? Sure. And, you know, we've divided kind of a

state into a couple different things in as Lutherans before

the fall. So the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, obviously could

sin but they didn't write they could they live not. They did

not sin after the fall. And before humans are regenerated,

we would say we're dead in our trespasses and sin. And the

Bible is clear on

that. We don't just say that Paul does. Yeah.

So that's, but not all Christians would take that

to its its truth. They'd say, well, it's marred or it's

clouded. We're basically good, but it's just needs to be

educated or it needs to be enlightened. No.

So they would maybe think that that Paul was

when he says, You're dead in your sins. That that's like a

exaggeration. They would maybe take it maybe, yeah.

So that's, that's what we would say as note that

you, you don't have freewill there. You're dead in your

trespasses and sin, you know how to avoid trouble. But you're

only doing that out of self interest. Right? After we're

brought to Christ and enlightened by the Holy Spirit,

then we have the choice. We have choices in life, and we have

choices to sin, which we're tempted into, we're short

sighted, we still have our sinful nature, working in our

subconscious and working, working in our being. And then

after, once we're, once we're in heaven, and fully with God, it

won't even be possible to sin, we will be in heavenly bliss,

where that's what that means. There's no more sin and no more

of its effect. That's why there's no more tears and no

more sorrow. Right? So we would say we're as Christians, we're

in that third part that I was talking about, and, but for most

people, to theologians, it's how do you get from part to part

three, when you're a Christian? I think for most people, they

want to know what is God's will for what college I go to or what

right all person to

marital, little decisions. I mean, all the way

down to you know what clothes that I wear,

right? You know, I can get so micro, that it

becomes a puzzle turn. So there's nuances to this whole

discussion, right? And I'm sure we'll talk about some of them.

Sure. Yeah, as I encounter you know, if you

ever want to make your your pastor kind of Twitch a little

bit when people talk about, you know, when they throw out in

Bible study that we have freewill. And so that's why we

can make all these choices and it's like, oh, that, that need

to correct theology that, well, no, you don't really have

freewill in the theological sense. But you have you have all

sorts of latitude to make all sorts of choices in life like

right yeah, because we can go so far as to be everything is like

determine a very deterministic, God has, God has ordained

everything that's ever going to happen. And, and that's the only

thing that can happen. We have we're just simply characters in

In the story, that have no choice about how the stories

being written, or we can be, you know, kind of the, like the

actors in the play or whatever, who have a little more latitude

in the improv. Yeah.

That's a great, a great way to think about with

the promise that God's going to work it out for good. Yes. And

even when wrong choices are made, or what turns out to be,

maybe even wrong up sinful, revealed that that sinful, God

can still make something good come out of it.

Right? We can't, that either, even though

we do have latitude in freedom to improvise, that we could

never out like, improvise God's will, yes, that that we can't

for what God is trying to ultimately accomplish. He might

have to work around our choices to get there. But what God wills

to happen will ultimately happen as God works toward that. While

we have the latitude to make all sorts of

choices, you were thinking it made me think, okay,

there's two errors to you know, the two extremes. Yep. The one

extreme that says, I have to figure out what God's will is.

So I do it all the time. That's obviously not, we're not able to

discern that. Sure. Totally. Right. And the other extreme

would be, it doesn't matter what I do, because it's all God has

predicted, predestined, it's my role in this is meaningless

anyhow. So therefore, I either don't do anything or I spare my

life, right?

So on the one side, or some somewhere, there's

an in between, right? Because on the one side, you're you are

like, you have to overthink every single step. Because you

don't want to make the right one you're always seeking. What's

the right answer? Not necessarily, what would God have

me do? How would not have me live? And just living out those

principles, you're actually looking for the right thing? You

know, as we, as in the other segment, on this episode, we

talked a little bit about if you marry the wrong person, you've

just broken the world. Because now everybody's married to the

wrong person. Because it's all off. Like, there's that level of

like weight riding on every decision you make kind of Back

to the Future. Yeah. Right. And the other side, then it's just,

who cares? We're just we're just along for the ride. It's all

determined. Anyways. There's the a joke that I heard in seminary

about. So So one of the theological systems that that

kind of follows the everything is very determined, is like a

kind of a Calvinist worldview. And so, you know, the Calvinist

falls down the stairs and says, Oh, thank god that's over. You

know, it was it was predetermined, it was going to

happen, right. Adams over there laughing trying not to laugh, I

might

need to explain what Calvinistic thought on that is,

but go ahead.

Well, just so those who follow kind of

Calvin's understanding and his his teachings, at the time of

the Reformation, there was a great emphasis put on just the

sovereignty of God. And so, God ultimately being sovereign, and

his predestination of everything down to the smallest detail was

is a important aspect in certain corners of Calvin Calvinism is a

broad category. But in certain corners of Calvinism, there's

there would be those who would probably fall down the stairs

and say that so for for the everyday Christian, going

through life, you know, seeking seeking God's will. wrestling

with you're trying to stay on the road not falling off on the

on the side of everything's already predetermined, so I

don't have to think about it, or I'm over thinking about it. What

kind of what kind of advice do you give to those folks who are

trying to stay that middle ground of walking in that

tension?

Well, you brought up Calvin, I'll bring up a Luther

quote, one that actually troubles a lot of people when

they find out he said that he said sin boldly. Now what he was

the context of that is his friend, Philip lengthen, who I

think you know who that is, but his friend was wrestling with a

decision, and he couldn't make up his mind. And it was he was

caught in this conundrum of inaction, because he was

worrying about everything. And Luther said, Okay, either choice

is not good, you know. So, sinned boldly and trust God's

grace more boldly. And when we're in that situation of,

well, I don't know what to do. Obviously, we want to think it

through as much as possible, but there is a time to make a

decision and move forward. Not willfully doing something God

doesn't want that. That's not an option for Chris. But we better

be clear that God has said it and not just, Hey, this is

interpretation or this is colloquial wisdom. Yep,

that makes me think of a another seminary

professor who on Facebook, I remember seeing this years ago,

and it is stuck with me ever since he had a post on it was a

like a presidential election day. And he had a post about it

that's about about voting. And he said, you know, pray about

your vote before you go. Pray for all your neighbors votes and

stuff, too. And ask for go in there vote the way that you feel

God is, like telling you to vote, and then pray for Grace

over that. Because you know what, whether that is really the

right way or the wrong way, if there's a right or wrong for

something like that, approaching those sorts of decisions with

grace, no one, alright, I've I've put as much effort as I

think I need to into, into how I make this decision. And now,

God, I'm asking for your grace, if I screwed this up, if I went

the wrong way, the right way or whatever.

And, and that was really one decision that a lot

of people ask me about. Yeah. You know, in one of our

elections, neither right candidate was a good choice. And

that was really troubling to people. And what do I do,

Pastor? Do I vote? Do I even vote? Yeah. And, you know, my

counsel, there was, Well, I think you need to really look at

what their platforms are not the person. Sure, because a No

person is perfect. And neither one of those are probably

even trying to be said about every every

nationally,

but look at their platform, which one aligns most

closely with what you would want, and support that. And

let's hope that these people are men and women of character and

seek justice.

But nobody's going to be able to do that.

Certainly 100% and praying for God's grace and praying for for

whatever the decision is, but certainly for something like

that. Yeah, it's a this the, the topic of freewill, you know,

certainly can be a a hairy thing, theologically to try to

sort through, I think, for the everyday disciple. I think it's

I think it's what we're talking about here of that, like

prayerfully, approaching the decisions, the intersections of

life, weighing the option on those sorts of things, you know,

if we're, if we're going on that walk down the road path, have we

come to a tee and the road and going right, going left seems

equally valid, then we pick one and go with it. And, and we

don't have to stress over? What if, what if I went the other

way? What if I didn't, you know what, I'm here, this is where

we're going. Until God either steers me a different direction,

or something comes up that says, Oh, maybe I should turn around.

We'll call this way.

Yeah, and I know, I've talked to many young people

on college, and, you know, do I look for Christian College? Or

do I go to, you know, a secular university program might be

better. There might be other tangible, tangible benefits.

But, yeah, Faith part there's gonna be lacking and what, which

is the right thing, they're not you, you approach very

prayerfully and make your decision. And again, if that one

you can change? Sure, you know, you can maybe make a change

later on to if you want to.

That's true. Some things like you know,

marriage. That's not quite so throw away. But we do want to

approach that prayerfully and ask, who would God have been

married? And how would God have me be as a spouse? What would

they have been looking looking for in a spouse?

Right, and certainly character and, you know, common

beliefs are? That's that's definitely talked about. So

that's where you don't flop. flop out. God's revealed well,

but you take that into consideration as well. And, but

also there is, there is not just one person who you could marry,

yes. But you get to choose, and God says, I can bless I will

bless that right.

And that's maybe the other important thing

to remember is is God blessing our choices. Him allowing us the

latitude to do that. And then to bless those choices as he sees

fit. You know, when we make a commitment to another person,

like in marriage, that God God blesses that commitment even if

God says, you know, that's maybe not who I would have chosen for

you as as a spouse, because you've committed yourself to one

another, I will bless that marriage, right, and, and God.

So that's where that's there is that like dialogue of God's will

for us our choices and the tension between those but God

affords us so much freedom in life, and we get to prayerfully

SEEK Him for that guidance. So yeah, thanks for this

conversation. Yeah. Rob, this is

go prayerfully. But also, go boldly, right.

Yeah. Thanks for listening to everyday

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