Christian Nonfiction Lovers Book Club discussion

I wanted to make a comment about a book by John Ortberg called "All the Places to Go. . . How Will You Know". In speaking about knowing God's will. ON page 89 he says,
"Sometimes you will ask for direction, and God will say to you, "I don't care." That doesn't mean God doesn't care about you. It means that God cares more about your personhood and character than anything else-which is of course what we would expect from a truly loving God."

So, in other words, sometimes God doesn't have a particular will about some of the choices we make regarding spouse we marry, job we take or where we live, but let's us make the choice. He is more concerned about our character than where we are.

Do you agree with this? Just curious what others think

Jeff wrote: "So, in other words, sometimes God doesn't have a particular will about some of the choices we make regarding spouse we marry, job we take or where we live, but let's us make the choice. He is more concerned about our character than where we are.

Do you agree with this? Just curious what others think..."

This is an interesting question Jeff. I wonder if it depends on the nature of the decision and where we are in our walk with God. I struggle to think that God would not have a view on decisions that can have a major impact on our lives, like who we marry.
I am enormously grateful for God's promises to guide us:

"He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake." (Psalm 23:3 NIV)

I wrote a chapter on this in my book on Psalm 23.

David wrote: "Jeff wrote: "So, in other words, sometimes God doesn't have a particular will about some of the choices we make regarding spouse we marry, job we take or where we live, but let's us make the choice..."

I believe John would say that there are times when God's will is specific, but in many instances we are allowed to choose from an array of options.
I can see that with some smaller decisions like what clothes to wear for the day. Most of us don't pray over what we are going to wear each day.

Jeff wrote: "I believe John would say that there are times when God's will is specific, but in many instances we are allowed to choose from an array of options..."

Thanks Jeff. I'd be interested if you (or John) can provide any scriptural basis for that. I'm struggling to think of one, whereas I can think of many scriptures where God promises to lead us, guide us and direct us.

I'm thinking of significant decisions here not minor ones like choosing what to eat in a restaurant.

David wrote: "Jeff wrote: "I believe John would say that there are times when God's will is specific, but in many instances we are allowed to choose from an array of options..."

Thanks Jeff. I'd be interested i..."

There are definitely some conclusions that the author makes that I would not agree with. In another part of the book he says that we should not assume that if we have a peace about the decision that this necessarily means that it is God's will. He said that if everyone waited until they had peace about something that nobody would do anything. I don't agree with that either. It suggests I'm suppose to act even though I feel uncomfortable about the decision.
I should finish this book today and will be glad to move on to something else

Jeff wrote: "There are definitely some conclusions that the author makes that I would not agree with..."
I found this book very good: God's Will: Finding Guidance for Everyday Decisions by J I Packer.
I generally like John Ortberg, I've read a number of his books, but no body's perfect :)

David wrote: "Jeff wrote: "There are definitely some conclusions that the author makes that I would not agree with..."
I found this book very good: Guard Us, Guide Us: Divine Leading in Life's Decisions that J.I. Packer wrote with Carolyn Nystrom

Jeff wrote: "I found this book very good: [book:Guard Us, Guide Us: Divine Leading in Life'..."

Thanks Jeff, I didn't realise that Packer had written two books on this subject.