"Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion?" by Bruce M. Waltke
When I was a very young Christian, I struggled mightily to try to determine
God's will for my life while in the process of making certain crucial decisions:
"Where should I go to college?" "What should I study?"
"What should I do with my life?" As a result of what I had been
taught, and what had been modelled to me by older Christians, I thought
of "God's will" as a particular, one-and-only"correct"
choice for me in any given situation, and I thought that "discerning
God's will" meant that I should attempt to ferret out, by whatever
means were necessary, what this one correct choice would be. If I guessed
right, God would be pleased, and I would be rewarded for my choice by following
a path that was the best God could offer me; if I guessed wrong, God would
be displeased, and I would suffer by not experiending the benefits of the
most perfect choice.
It seems that many Christians think of God's will in this way. Some years
back, I heard a very famous Christian crooner talk about determining God's
will for his life in a particular situation by "placing a fleece before
the Lord," a reference to Gideon's practice in Judges 6. This crooner
spoke as though he would encourage all Christians to seek a sign from the
Lord in this way. But Gideon requested a sign because He did not believe
the revelation he had just received directly from God. Is the seeking of
signs really the way Christians should discern God's will? What do we really
mean by God's will anyway?
Bruce Waltke, Professor of Old Testament Studies at Regent College in Vancouver,
B.C., weighs in on this question with his new book, "Finding the Will
of God: A Pagan Notion?" The subtitle gives some clue as to where Dr.
Waltke wants to go in his discussion of God's will. He suggests that the
attempts of some Christians to determine God's will by looking for "signs"
is little different from the forms of divination used by pagan religions,
and not at all what New Covenant Christians ought to be doing. For New Covenant
Christians, he argues, God's will is revealed as we read our bibles, know
the desires of our hearts, seek the counsel of older, wiser Christians,
use our ability to reason, and watch for God's occasional direct intervention
in our circumstances. In short, Prof. Waltke argues, we determine God's
will by walking closely in intimate relationship with Him, not by looking
for signs.
Having heard Prof. Waltke teach in a variety of venues, I had high expectations
when I bought this book, and, for the most part, they were met. Dr. Waltke
expounds his thesis in a clear, logical, gently-persuasive way, using numerous
practical examples from his own life to illustrate his points. The book
is well-written and easy to read. He begins by reviewing the incorrect views
modern Christians have of God's will, talks about the divination practices
of pagan religions, reviews how God's will was perceived in the Old Testament,
then describes six ways that Christians, through their relationship with
God, are able to live as He would have them live.
My only complaint about this book is that it shows signs of hasty preparation
by the publisher, Vision House of Gresham, Oregon. The text contains numerous
misspellings and typographical errors. The print quality is poor as is the
paper stock. This excellent work by Dr. Waltke (and his co-author, Dr. Chip
MacGregor, who doesn't share cover credit but is acknowledged in the body
of the book) deserves a better package. Apart from that complaint, I highly
recommend this book.
"Finding the Will of God" by Bruce Waltke
©1995 by Bruce Waltke
Published by Vision House
ISBN: 1-885305-26-5
Note added 8/2000: This book is now out-of-print. You may be able to
locate a copy
through www.abebooks.com or www.bibliofind.com.
A newer book that covers similar material is:
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