In conclusion (following yesterday’s post) Jerry Sittser wrote in his book “the Will of God as a Way of Life”. . .
“Finally, the ambiguity of seeking God’s kingdom first gives us freedom, confidence, and security to make decisions. If we truly seek God above all, then we will always be doing the will of God no matter where our particular choices lead us, because seeking God’s kingdom first is God’s will. When we come to a crossroads with no signposts to guide our way, we then have the freedom to choose what we want, the confidence of knowing God will go with us, and the security of trusting our decisions become his will.** In other words, we simply cannot lose. We cannot make a decision that is “outside’ the will of God because we are already “inside” that will. As it turns out, the weightiest choice we make is never between two future options—say, taking a job in California or staying in Iowa—but between two ways of life, one for God, the other against God.
But is it that easy? Yes, if we choose the “easy” life of complete devotion to God. Jesus taught, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light,”22 although the initial step of submission to his yoke may strike us at the time of decision as anything but easy. Yet whether or not it is easy is beside the point. Many things start out difficult but become easy over time, such as learning a new sport of playing a new musical instrument. Following God works the same way. It contradicts our selfish nature, yet it is true to our nature as well. God made us for himself; our deepest longings are for him.The life we ought to lead—the life we really want to lead—is lived every day for God.
As we will see, God does have a plan for our lives. We will discover that plan, however, by simply doing the will of God we already know in the present moment. Life will then gradually unfold for us. We will discover at just the right time what we need to know and do. We will walk through a door into one room and then, over time, recognize which door we should take next—or if clear guidance is lacking, simply choose another door and walk through it. That process will continue as we move from one room to the next and progress from phase of life to the next. We will discern God’s will as naturally as we learned how to walk—one step at a time. We will never have to look back, never have to fret over decisions, never have to worry that God has abandoned us. **see below
Over time we will begin to see that the course our lives took was exactly what God intended, We will observe pattern, however, only by looking back on what has happened, viewing our life story in retrospect. In the meantime, let’s concentrate our energy on the present moment. God, we can be sure, will be clear when he needs to be. He has already been supremely clear about one thing—that we must seek him first.
~Jerry Sittser, the Will of God as a Way of Life (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2000), 38-39
Reference: 21. Agustine, The Confessions (Hyde Prk, N.Y.: New City, 1997), 39
**Regarding answers to prayer: It has been explained that prayers may not be answered for a number of reasons. Someone has said, after he had been praying for 20+ years and the answer finally came, that previous to a life experience at that time, the Lord had ‘no place to put the answer’ for it to be properly understood, appreciated and acted upon.~k
Links to previous ‘Jerry Sittser’s posts: * A Startling Conclusion, *All is vanity. . .’, * Ambiguity
(Posts with a preamble asterisk * are for a more general audience, and not specific to teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.)
