Just Do Something, A Review

I recently read Kevin DeYoung's 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, Writings in the Sky, etc. The rather long and humor subtitle explains the central thrust of the book. He states,

The conventional approach to the will of God-where God's will is like a corn maze with only one way out and lots of dead ends, or like a bull's eye with the center of God's will in the middle and second best everywhere else, or like a Magic 8-Ball that we are supposed to shake around until some generic answer floats to the top-is not helpful (43).

Written primarily to twenty and thirty-somethings, the book seeks to move readers from indecisiveness and hesitation toward a God-centered obedient faith walk. DeYoung encourages his reader to approach discerning God's will through wisdom. He states, "Biblical wisdom means living a disciplined and prudent life in the fear of the Lord" (89). He lists three ways through which we develop wisdom: a thorough understanding of the Scripture, through godly counsel, and through prayer.

As DeYoung states it, "The will of God for our lives is that we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The most important decision we face is the daily decision to live for Christ and die to self" (63). He adds, "If we do those two things, then we are free to choose between jobs and schools and locations. God wants us to stop obsessing about the future and trust that He holds the future" (63). Thus, the quest for finding God's will ends not is locating some indiscernible hidden will, but in doing what he has already revealed in Scripture and making decisions that are based upon the principles of Scripture.

Just Do Something doesn't get bogged down with heavy theological language, so it is very useful to the average person in the pew. The book shares a lot of practical wisdom, and does offer "a liberating approach to finding God's will," for those who are too afraid to commit to a path for fear of displeasing God and those who continually look for signs that God is pleased with their decisions. Its size, a mere 128 pages, and its readability, make it useful resources. I recommend that you get a copy and begin reading it today.