Risk, Uncertainty and the Will of God

 How do we face uncertainty?  I want to do the will of God.  I want to try new things.  But, is now the right time?  Will my venture meet with success or failure?  Should I wait until I am sure?  Anxiety over God's will stems from this uncertainty.  These are the kinds of questions Qoheleth wants to address.

Ecclesiastes 10:8-11 describes the uncertainty in our daily affairs.  Sometimes the uncertainty stems from our own actions, sometimes its unavoidable.  We fall into a pit we have just dug.  We work in danger when we work with wood or stone.  If we try to charm a snake, well, you get the picture.  How do we keep this uncertainty from paralyzing us?

Solomon would remind us that while uncertainty exists from our point of view, all things are certain to God.  Where clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves on the earth (11:3).  Where a tree falls, there it lies.  Who knows how the spirit joins the body of a baby in conception?  There is so much we don't know. It is a comfort then that God orchestrates all things and will dispose the day.  Why doesn't He tell us what He's doing?

There is gravity in the uncertainty of our world.  We don't know what disaster will fall upon the earth (11:2).  We don't know what will prosper, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well (11:6).  This uncertainty can breed sloth:  He who observes the wind will never sow and he who regards the clouds will never reap (11:4).  Proverbs makes this point as well:  The sloth excuses his inactivity by fearing "There is a lion in the streets- I will be slain in the public square."  I suppose there is a lion outside his door somewhere, but what are the chances it's anywhere near?

If uncertainty is built into life, then faith in God is essential.  Watch how faith works in the face of uncertainty:

    "So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there were there with great, fortified cities.  It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord has said."  (Caleb, Joshua 14:12)

    "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you.  Be of good courage and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God and may the Lord do what seems good to him."  (Joab, II Samuel 10:11-12) 

     "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.  If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."  (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel 3:16-18)

     "Go gather all the Jews in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.  I and my young women will fast as you do.  Then, I will go into the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish." (Esther, Esther 4:16)

     "Some of you they will put to death.  You will be hated by all for my name's sake.  But not a hair of your head will perish."  (Jesus to His disciples, Luke 21:16-18)

     "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring... Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."  (James 4:13-16)

Some Bible expositor might say:  "To move from your place without a sure word from God is reckless presumption."  Solomon would respond by saying that risk and faith are related.  If uncertainty is built in, then faith in God is essential.  Good and bad happen together.  Light and darkness are a part of life.  The proper response is to rejoice in all our years, remembering that the many days of darkness are unavoidable.

Solomon shares three pieces of advice for managing uncertainty and the element of risk.  First, cast your bread upon the waters:  Invest your life wisely even when there is no promise of immediate reward (11:1).  Second, give a portion to seven or eight- diversify (11:2). Finally, be diligent:  The merism "morning and evening" means to consistently invest your life- not everything will succeed, but not everything will fail.  Keep working.

Man was made to take dominion over God's creation, to care for the garden and to bring more order and beauty to God's world.  Solomon wants us to get after the goals we have set:  Follow your heart, but know for all this God will bring you into judgment.  If your plans are good and true, pray about them and then step out.  We are called to be faithful.  Success comes from God.  Don't let uncertainty stand in your way.  Risk in order to take dominion, to advance the kingdom of God, is good.  Perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.

Reasons to Stay Put

       In every group of pilgrim decision-makers, there are always people who believe the proposed scheme will never work.  It is important to deal squarely with the objections.  Which are real possibilities and which are imaginary fears?

       Bradford lists the reasons that the pilgrims gave for staying put in Leyden.  Under the banner of "inconceivable toils and dangers," they feared:

• The length of the voyage was too long- the weak among them would never survive.
• The primitive conditions would prove too miserable to endure- famine, nakedness, and want were surely in their future.
• The change of air and diet and water would provide ample opportunity for sickness and infection

       The fourth fear deserves some attention.  They would run into savages "who were cruel, barbarous and treacherous, furious in their rage, and merciless when they get the upper hand- not content to kill, they delight in tormenting people in the most bloody way possible; flaying some alive with the shells of fishes, cutting off the members and joints of others piecemeal, broiling them on the coals, and eating collops of their flesh in their sight whilst they live, with other cruelties too horrible to be related."
       Fear has the ear of these pilgrims now.  Whose has been telling them stories?  Sailors?  Other adventurers abroad?  What could they imagine would be worse than what they had already described?  This was certainly not their experience.  Not with Squanto.  Not with Massasoit.  Not with the inhabitants of the "praying villages" established in New England over the next 50 years.
       Fear takes on a life of its own.  The longer the pilgrims considered the decision, the more they put it off, the worse their imaginations became.    The courage to risk was compromised.  How do you rationally answer imaginary objections?

Questions to Ask as You Pursue God's Will (based on II Thessalonians 1:11-12)

1. Make your calling and election sure.
2. What's your motivation? What's your desire? Ask for conviction or assurance from the Holy Spirit.
3. How do you make decisions- Evaluation or Intuition? One is not better than the other, but finding a friend who decides issues in the other way can be helpful.
4. What has God said or promised concerning your desire or resolve? Are you willing to trust Him?
5. Does your desire fit with the corporate resolves of your local body of believers? Is it an individual resolve or part of a larger ministry?
6. Where are you in prayer concerning your resolve? Are you waiting on god? Wrestling? Can others join with you in prayer? Are you ready to step out?
7. Are there other resolves, related to your desire, that God is leading you to make? Begin a habit of continually seeking, testing, trusting, and trying.

According to Grace

We began this series by saying that the whole passage is held together by the structure of Paul's prayer. It ends by reminding us that the whole of our lives, the ability to make resolutions, the ability to act by faith, the chance to access the power of God to vindicate our cause and His, comes to us by grace. Grace calls us, equips us, empowers us, then rewards us with great honor for our loyalty. And we have done only what it was our duty to do. To whom much is given, much is required.

Reciprocal Glorification

"So that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him." One commentator writes that the result of our resolves, our acts of faith, when they are combined with the power of God, bring "reciprocal glorification." We are not to presume that we can share the glory that belongs to God alone, for He will not share His glory with another. So, in what sense do we share His glory?
A long time ago, I read Matthew Henry's wonderful phrase "God has twisted interests with us." For the modern Ozymandias, their selfish pursuit for glory will end in eternal ruin. However, for the lover of God, we want nothing more than to marvel at the glory of Christ when He is revealed. The vindication of His justice and sovereign rule is also vindication of our own faith in Jesus. It is the vindication of our loyalty to Christ. It is our glory to have remained faithful and it is His glory to be marveled at by those who count it joy to have held on to Him. Sun and moon, we shine with the glory of Christ.

God's Will By God's Power

Paul's prayer for God's will on the part of the Thessalonians is that God will add his power to their resolves, their acts of faith, so that He is glorified. We might make an assumption here that God's power is on the other side of the equation- that there is God's part and our part.
Here is where I have fallen down all too often in my resolves and my acts of faith. I have assumed that when they came with no power, God had decided to say no. I forgot the lesson of the widow and the unjust judge. I gave up. I stopped wrestling. I let go before he blessed me.
"As the people of God, we must never be content with unanswered prayer. We cry out to the Lord, and we do not do this because we merely want to hear ourselves talking in a religious way. We do this because we seek deliverance and salvation." -Doug Wilson
"It is atheism to pray and not to wait in hope" -Richard Sibbes
Wrestling. Waiting on God. Abiding under. Time to beg God for fullness, for power. We have lived too long in emptiness.

Every Act Prompted By Faith

The parallel term for our resolve to do good for the glory of God in the text is "every act prompted by faith." I've already mentioned that Paul assumes we are not running out with God's credit card to pursue our own desires. What we want to do is guided by our faith. Two observations are helpful for me here:
1. My faith grows, not by focusing on the size of my faith, but upon the object of my faith. Books like "The Holiness of God" by A. W. Tozer, "Desiring God" and "The Pleasures of God" by John Piper can be huge in helping us to know God better. Large amounts of scripture reading can show us how God works and desires to work with His people.
2. My acts of faith should be grounded in the promises of God. "Pleading the promises" means connecting the concerns of God and the promises of God to our own petitions in prayer. I want to do X because it addresses a concern of God in the world (like caring for widows and orphans) and God promises to help (I can do all things..., Ask anything in my name..., ).
As James declares, true faith is never alone. It is trusting God and stepping out. The proof of our faith is in our actions. May God help us, as we seek to do His will, to resolve great things and to trust Him for the results of our actions.

Every Good Resolve

What started this series of blogs was a small textual question in v. 11. The KJV says that the purpose or resolve that is good is God's. The NIV says that the purpose or resolve that is good is mine. Who's right? It turns out the "his" is added in the KJV. Since the good resolve or purpose is parallel to an act prompted by faith, most modern translations, including the ESV, make the resolve or purpose relate to the believer rather than God.
Wow! My good purpose. Paul does not assume that the believer will rush out, promise in hand to pursue selfish ends. He assumes the believer has a desire and passion to see the glory of God. It is the glory of God that begins and ends this prayer. What Paul does see is a holy desire to have a specific role in the accomplishment of God's glory. That desire, that resolve, is the beginning of pursuing God's will.
How do I arrive at that resolve? Ask the Holy Spirit. Study your personality, gifts and abilities. Ask the leadership in your church. Then, when you have an idea that excites or burdens you, check your motivation against the glory of God. Finally, scour the scriptures for instruction and promises on the idea you have in mind. The Holy Spirit may convict you of a selfish or sinful goal or obstacle. He may give assurance that your idea could help reach the goal of the glory of God.
The good steward is always looking to make a profit for his Master. A good resolve is nothing but a good idea with feet on it.

The Pursuit of God's Will is Held Together by Prayer

The fulfillment of God's Will in the lives of Thessalonian believers is a constant burden for Paul in his prayers. He has three requests with regard to this church:
1. That God may count you worthy of His calling
2. That God may fulfill every good resolve of yours (see later discussion) by His power
3. That God may glorify the name of Christ in the believers.
Our discussion of God's will centers on the second request, but notice how the spiritual lives of the Thessalonians are held together by the corporate prayer of the apostle Paul, with Silas- Paul's traveling and ministry companion, and the young disciple, Timothy. The desire of God to get the Thessalonian believers safely home and to display the wonder of His Son, is seconded in prayer by Paul and others in the faith.
Paul's prayer is both corporate and persistent. It was a comfort and an encouragement for the Thessalonian believers to know that Paul constantly wrestled in prayer for their maturity, their sanctification, their readiness to see the revelation of Christ.
The will of God for the believer, then, is birthed and nurtured in the persistent, corporate prayer of a caring body of believers. Woe to the one who goes it alone.

Pursuing God's Will in Light of His Return

The second coming of Christ is not the expected place to begin a discussion on God's Will, but since Paul did, I guess I should. I Thessalonians 1:11-12 begins: "With this in mind..." "This" refers to the passage before, which describes in both glorious and terrible terms the second coming of Christ. His return speaks devastation to those who do not obey the gospel of Christ. For them, it is everlasting punishment. Worse, it is being shut out from the presence of God for eternity. To those who believe, the return of Christ will be glorious. It is a day when he will be marveled at by those who believe.
God's will, then, is that one day His Son will be marveled at, seen as the treasure, fulfillment, satisfaction, and wonder that only God's unique Son could be. At this permanent transfiguration, every knee bows, every tongue confesses, and believers "marvel."
C. S. Lewis asks an interesting question with regard to belief. He tells the story of a man arrested and tried for a horrible crime. One friend believes or disbelieves according to the evidence presented at trial. Another friend stands by Him every day until his innocence is proved. Which friend will be honored? The steadfast friend, of course!
The Second Coming of Christ is both the universal display of the justice of God's sovereign reign and the vindication of the day to day faithfulness of those who put their trust in Christ. Paul says we share in that. Glory!
So what does that have to do with God's will? Simply this- if universal acknowledgment of the beauty and holiness of Christ is how the world wraps up, then it is wise that we bend our will and desires to pursue His glory. Pursuing God's will- and being found worthy of His calling- is the only rational way to live in light of His return.

Pursuing God's Will- part 1

To those who love Jesus, the subject of God's Will is exciting, intimate, and frustrating. We desire to do the will of God with regard to this or that decision- usually the major ones (Vocation and Marriage)but we have no specific direction. If only God would tell us what to do!
There are some good books on the subject, including:
*Gary Friessen- Decision-making and the Will of God
*Bruce Waltke- Finding the Will of God- a pagan notion?
Perhaps the thing I found most helpful was a little book by John MacArthur, "God's Will is Not Lost." In it, he describes what scripture plainly says IS the will of God. We are to pursue that- whether it is our sanctification, the cultivation of thankfulness, or persevering in suffering. Then, his last point is "You're it!"
My own approach to God's Will has often been the blunt advice of friends, rather like Farel convincing Calvin to return to Geneva. In preaching through the epistles to the Thessalonians, however, I have found a great treasure in II Thess. 1:11-12. The passage is slowly unpacking for me a specific understanding of the pursuit of God's Will. It began with a linguistic puzzle: Whose good purpose is described in v. 11? Ours or God's? The next 9 posts will explain my understanding- and I'd love to get your input.

Jane Eyre's Cousin Needs Some Work

St. John Rivers wants to be a good parson. He wants to accomplish the heroic, to please his Commanding Officer. His quest for significance makes him a missionary candidate headed for India. He desires to wed Jane Eyre because of her skills as a "help meet" on the field. But Jane complains that "his sole desire in proposing to me is to procure a fitting fellow-laborer."
Bronte characterizes St. John with three faults:

• He does not always see the people he serves, people become means to serve what he presumes are God's ends. He does the same in his 'love' for Jane.
• He doesn't see the heroic he does do, like strolling out into a snow storm when he gets news of a dying parishioner. So the hard measure he uses on others, he also uses on himself.
• He misses the joy of Rosamond Oliver. She was a beautiful young woman. They shared a mutual attraction and her father would have been favorable to a union. But he never considers her because she is different than he is (he can't see her in India). Worse, it seems to me he can't imagine a world where duty to God and joy and contentment in life are not mutually exclusive. It may even be his 'austere Calvinism' that prevents it.

Here's the error, summarized by Jane: "He is a good and a great man; but he forgets, pitilessly, the feelings and claims of little people, in pursuing his own large views."