Author: Kevin DeYoung
Pages: 128 pages
Publisher: Moody
Price: 8.79
Genre: Christian Living
Quick Summary:
The title of this book tells it all: 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. DeYoung’s philosophy is simple, “Live for God. Obey the Scriptures. Think of others before yourself. Be holy. Love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like, with whomever you like, wherever you like, and you’ll be walking in the will of God.
It is sad that DeYoung’s approach will come as novel to many readers. But it is not. This approach is certainly as old as Augustine who essentially said, “Love God and do what you want”. Much of this book is given to tearing down the “hyper-spiritual approaches” that don’t work. DeYoung also offers some instruction as to what to do—but if you are looking for magical answers you will not find it. His advice is simple—just do something.
What I Liked:
Adultolescence is an ever-increasing problem. There are those that are 30 and older that still do not have their life figured out. Within the church this is seen as a spiritual “waiting for God’s will”. DeYoung tears down all of the mystical garbage of pursuing God’s will. This is such a welcome addition to all of the books on finding God’s will; as a youth pastor I will frequently be recommending this book to students trying to discover God’s will for their life.
For me personally, this book has come at a very appropriate time. For awhile now the Lord has been opening up the Scriptures and pointing out aspects of church history to shape my view of “finding His will”. I have came to much the same conclusion as DeYoung—he just says it better than I was able to. This book has served to confirm what the Lord was already working in my own heart. I am not certain how this book would do in encouraging someone that picked up in whole-hearted disagreement. I would imagine that it would be used by God to convince them of the simplicity of knowing God’s will and hopefully encourage them to put down the crystal ball and start following Jesus.
This book is short, well-written, and extremely helpful.
What I Disliked:
This book will appeal to 30-somethings and younger. But these are not the only ones that have bought into the contemporary Christian’s “hyper-spiritual” view of finding God’s will. Everyone, regardless of age, needs to read this book; I hope that the books packaging, writing style, and target audience does not prevent this.
This probably says more about my list-desiring heart than DeYoung’s book, but I would have liked a little more information on what to do in knowing God’s will. This book does a great job of tearing down the existing structure but does kind of leave the person asking, “Well, what now”. But maybe that is the spot that we are to be in—absolute dependence on God and asking, “What now”.
Should You Buy It?
I love how Joshua Harris wrote the Foreword. He says, “It is God’s will for you to read this book”. Then he says that such a tactic is actually baloney. But this book is well written and extremely helpful. If you are the type that is constantly wondering what God’s will is, then you need to buy this book. If you work with teenagers or thirty-somethings that are still looking for direction then buy this book. If you have an adult living in your basement that should have a job, be married, and not living in your basement then perhaps you should slip it in front of their Xbox 360 with a note that says, “Read this!!!” Buy it here for only $8.79
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
A more thourough treatment of this subject is Garry Friessen's book "Decision Making and the Will of God." The only drawback for Friessen's book is that it too lengthy for the average reader.
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