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Knowing God's Will: Finding Guidance for Personal Decisions
How can we discover God's will for the complicated decisions of time, money, relationships, education and career? How do we know which is best among a variety of "good" options? In this updated and substantially expanded edition, M. Blaine Smith shows how God unfolds his plan for our lives -- through the Bible, prayer, reason, abilities, circumstances, desire and the counsel of others. He packs each chapter with stories which illustrate how he and other Christians have learned to make decisions that please God.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 8, 2015
To be honest, I would love to say that I read through 100% of M. Blaine Smith’s book “Knowing God’s Will”, but I can’t. I managed to force-feed myself about 70% of the main text of the book and that took all of the willpower I could muster. Now it may just be me, but I found myself constantly at odds with what the author penned and strongly disagree with much of the theology he uses to make his points. For the sake of this paper, I have taken extensive notes as I read on both positives and negatives that I found in my reading.
I always like to start on a positive note, so I will begin by praising Smith’s encouragement of bible study. Throughout the book, he encourages his readers to study their bibles to know God’s moral will for their lives. This activity, Smith suggests, will keep us from wasting time “waiting on God”. Smith seems relatively convicted that Christians who have a have a heavy dependence and reliance on God in their day-to-day life are “immature” in their faith (on pages 69-70, Smith suggests that as a Christian grows in faith, he becomes less dependent on God for daily guidance).
That being said, I feel a much more appropriate title for this book would be “How to Live a Lukewarm Christian Life”. It is apparent when Smith makes mention of Peter’s denial of Jesus on the night of His arrest (I made note of this and remember reading it, but seem to be unable to find the page number). Smith has the mindset of a non-spirit led Christian who admittedly has denied Jesus throughout his life. What the author fails to realize is that the Peter that denied Jesus three times is not the same Peter of the book of Acts whom Smith praises! In my notes on chapter four, I note that Smith seems to have a very “Old Testament” view of God. He chooses to see God from the legalistic perspective of thinking that it’s impossible to live by the Holy Spirit. The biggest revelation is found toward the end of chapter four. Smith was discussing foretelling and prophecy in the Christian life when he says, “But scripture gives us no reason to expect this would happen frequently or that the average Christian would ever experience such knowledge” (page 52). However, 1 Corinthians 14:1 says the complete opposite! “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy”.
The second large issue I had was in chapter 6. Smith starts off the chapter talking about God’s will and marriage. He says “If I want to be married, for instance, I don’t have to merely sit passively and wait for my princess charming to arrive on my doorstep. I can take initiative toward finding a partner or toward resolving the direction of a relationship I’m already in” (page 68). This passage reminds me of a story from Genesis 16 that we all know well. Abram lays with Hagar, Sari’s servant, to have a surrogate child. In his mind, this was him fulfilling God’s will, but it is later revealed to be a huge mistake. The Ishmaelites became a plague to Israel throughout much of the Old Testament. I’ve seen many pastors use this illustration to show the consequences of acting without God’s guidance.
Overall, this book left me feeling very frustrated. There were many more instances throughout the rest of what I read, but the two instances mentioned above made it very difficult to trust anything Smith said. I understand what Smith is trying to do, for the most part. He is trying to keep us from living a stagnant lifestyle under a rock because we are “waiting on God”. But I would argue the other side, from Foster’s perspective. Holy Expectancy is the healthy way to discern God’s will. I would not recommend this book to any Spirit-led congregation, as the biblical foundation for Smith’s whole argument is weak and out of context at best.
I always like to start on a positive note, so I will begin by praising Smith’s encouragement of bible study. Throughout the book, he encourages his readers to study their bibles to know God’s moral will for their lives. This activity, Smith suggests, will keep us from wasting time “waiting on God”. Smith seems relatively convicted that Christians who have a have a heavy dependence and reliance on God in their day-to-day life are “immature” in their faith (on pages 69-70, Smith suggests that as a Christian grows in faith, he becomes less dependent on God for daily guidance).
That being said, I feel a much more appropriate title for this book would be “How to Live a Lukewarm Christian Life”. It is apparent when Smith makes mention of Peter’s denial of Jesus on the night of His arrest (I made note of this and remember reading it, but seem to be unable to find the page number). Smith has the mindset of a non-spirit led Christian who admittedly has denied Jesus throughout his life. What the author fails to realize is that the Peter that denied Jesus three times is not the same Peter of the book of Acts whom Smith praises! In my notes on chapter four, I note that Smith seems to have a very “Old Testament” view of God. He chooses to see God from the legalistic perspective of thinking that it’s impossible to live by the Holy Spirit. The biggest revelation is found toward the end of chapter four. Smith was discussing foretelling and prophecy in the Christian life when he says, “But scripture gives us no reason to expect this would happen frequently or that the average Christian would ever experience such knowledge” (page 52). However, 1 Corinthians 14:1 says the complete opposite! “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy”.
The second large issue I had was in chapter 6. Smith starts off the chapter talking about God’s will and marriage. He says “If I want to be married, for instance, I don’t have to merely sit passively and wait for my princess charming to arrive on my doorstep. I can take initiative toward finding a partner or toward resolving the direction of a relationship I’m already in” (page 68). This passage reminds me of a story from Genesis 16 that we all know well. Abram lays with Hagar, Sari’s servant, to have a surrogate child. In his mind, this was him fulfilling God’s will, but it is later revealed to be a huge mistake. The Ishmaelites became a plague to Israel throughout much of the Old Testament. I’ve seen many pastors use this illustration to show the consequences of acting without God’s guidance.
Overall, this book left me feeling very frustrated. There were many more instances throughout the rest of what I read, but the two instances mentioned above made it very difficult to trust anything Smith said. I understand what Smith is trying to do, for the most part. He is trying to keep us from living a stagnant lifestyle under a rock because we are “waiting on God”. But I would argue the other side, from Foster’s perspective. Holy Expectancy is the healthy way to discern God’s will. I would not recommend this book to any Spirit-led congregation, as the biblical foundation for Smith’s whole argument is weak and out of context at best.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2018
I quite like the appendices at the end - they provide more context for the overall argument put forward in the book. The book, however, did not speak to my heart. There is an element of letting go of the self that I found to be absent, which did not resonate with me. I do appreciate the layout and tackling of the subject matter, it is well thought through and presented in a logical and cohesive manner. But that is part of my issue with it - the grip on the rational, logical, investigative and provision of evidence for and against the correct way to seek to understand God's will reduced the spiritual component to one of rationality for me.
Two verses that came to mind as I was reading that convey my overall response to the book: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6). And: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me" (John 10:27).
I wanted to like this book more than I did but it did give me a broader perspective on thinking about how to understand God's will and prompted me to formulate my own thoughts and standpoints in a way that could not have been otherwise achieved. I am appreciative of the work.
Two verses that came to mind as I was reading that convey my overall response to the book: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6). And: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me" (John 10:27).
I wanted to like this book more than I did but it did give me a broader perspective on thinking about how to understand God's will and prompted me to formulate my own thoughts and standpoints in a way that could not have been otherwise achieved. I am appreciative of the work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2012
LOVED this book! I picked it up at a garage sale just to flip through, but ended up getting hooked! The part I take away is where the author explained God's will as not being some cut and dry plan where there is no deviation, but one that evolves and is revealed as we go- similar to how a flashlight gently illuminates our way, rather than a blasting spotlight where we see the entire road from the start. This brings back the song, "Thy Word" and the lyrics, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet", NOT a spotlight at the outset, but a lamp (subtle light)...guiding as we go. This makes so many unknowns in life easier to swallow, as anyone seeking God's will is often filled with more questions than specific answers. I give high recommendations for this book, especially for a seasoned Christian.
September 10, 2008
One of the better written books that goes into detail how we should know what choices to make and how God plays a role in those decisions. The book is professionally written, most likely at a college to grad school level and backs up all of the claims it makes with scripture and examples. This is currently my most favorite book.
Currently reading
March 21, 2011I am teaching this book for a local Bible college. I am half way through it - this is one of the most thought provoking books I have read in years. I am not sure if yet agree with it or not. Stay tuned.
January 18, 2020
Practical scriptural guidance to determining God’s will in your life for decisions big and small.
March 14, 2009
My version from the library was from 1979 - the original edition, but still found this to be one of the best books i've read in awhile.
December 21, 2011
so unbelievably convicting. extremely helpful.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews