Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Why asking, “What is God’s will for my life?” is problematic: part 1 Worldviews #12

Why asking, “What is God’s will for my life?” is problematic: part 1 Worldviews #12

Last updated on: May 1, 2023 at 12:54 am by Rob Dalrymple

Why asking, “What is God’s will for my life?” is problematic: part 1 Worldviews #12 2023-04-27T12:37:42-08:00 Rob Dalrymple

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As the final component of a Christian worldview, the question is often raised, “What is your purpose?” Although I might concede that this can be a fine question, I believe that it is too often misguided and, to be frank, problematic.

Finding one’s purpose: is this an egocentric endeavor?

In response to the question of one’s purpose, it is commonly asserted that since God made us in His image (one of the key starting points in a Christian worldview), then we should aim to discern what God’s will is for us.

My first concern with this endeavor is that the question is inherently self-centric and not Theo(God)-centric. In other words, it is a great question if we were to start from an Enlightenment, modernist, or even a post-modernist, worldview—both of which are intensely individualistic.

But it is not a good question when we begin with a Christ-centered worldview.

Now I am not saying that we shouldn’t strive to pursue our ambitions and fulfill our giftings and callings. (more in my post next week). After all, it may well be that our giftings and callings are from God and that He has given them to us for His glory.

But this is not necessarily where many people go when they are taught to ask, “What is God’s will for my life?”

Henry Blackaby, in his best-selling work, Experiencing God, notes that he believes the question, “What is God’s will for my life?” is the wrong question. Instead, Blackaby contends, we should be asking “What is God’s will?”

Blackaby goes on to explain that each day we should endeavor to ask, “God, show me where you are working today,” and then, Blackaby encourages us to add, “And how can I join you in your work.”

There is, in other words, much more at the heart of our “calling” than to discern what God’s will is for our lives.

Note: when we in the West frame the question as “What is God’s will for my life?” we often mean such things as: what career path does God have for me?; what man/woman does God want me to marry?; where does God want me to live?; etc.

Jesus and God’s will

Imagine if Jesus started out His ministry with, “God, what is your will for my life?” You might not see anything wrong with this question, but it is fundamentally opposed to what Jesus actually did.

One of the reasons why Jesus was constantly in prayer was because His lifelong pursuit was to do God’s will not God’s will for His life. And it was in prayer that Jesus sought to discern His will.

Jesus even taught us to pray: “Your will be done” (Matt 6:10).

Now, you might object that Jesus is not the best example because He was God and He had a special purpose.

To which I would respond that Jesus is the PERFECT EXAMPLE!

Jesus was the true Adam. He was the true human. He did what Adam and Eve failed to do. He was faithful. We are called to “follow Me” (Mark 2:14). And we are called to do what Jesus did. As Paul says, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1).

NB: I am not denying that Jesus also came to be the ultimate sacrifice and to defeat death—which also works to confirm my point because we too are called to take up our crosses and follow Him (Mark 8:34).

I argued in an earlier post that Adam and Eve’s failure (it was not a Fall but a Failure) was that they sought wisdom on their own terms and not the wisdom that comes from God. They made themselves (or the serpent) Lord and they failed to acknowledge that Jesus/YHWH was Lord.

Is not our asking, “What is God’s will for my life?” in many ways the same mistake Adam and Eve made? Should we not be asking, “What is God’s will?”

Finding one’s purpose: is this a question of privilege?

Another problem that I see with the question, “What is God’s will for my life?” is that it is a question of privilege.

What I mean by this is that many/most (I am not a sociologist so I am not sure if it is many or most) people in the world are far more concerned with how they are going to find clean water and where their next meal is coming from, than they are with “What is God’s will for my life?”

They are not concerned with “God’s will” as we typically mean by the question. Instead, they are concerned with surviving.

Maybe, then, we should consider that God’s will (for our lives) might center on how to alleviate the suffering of so many. (I’ll get back to this in my next post)

Now, I suspect that many will not go down this path—I hesitate to go down it myself.

But let me add one thing to the equation.

Richard Foster, in his masterful work, The Freedom of Simplicity, which I think everyone should read or become familiar with, notes that there is not enough wealth in the world for us to endeavor to bring the poor to our standard of living.

In other words, Foster contends, in order for us to have what we in the West have, someone else must go without.

This means that in order for us to help the poor and the marginalized in the world (not necessarily every instance) we need to bring our standard of living down.

NB: I encourage you to take a simple test on the website: slaveryfootprint.org (you will be surprised/grieved at what you learn).

An example of this is the Fair Trade movement that went through many churches a while back (it may still be making its way through churches and society as a whole, but my experience dates back a decade or more).

The idea of Fair Trade goods is that we are able to purchase products that were made by local individuals in third-world countries at a price that enables the workers to be paid a “fair” or living wage.

When I worked for a mega church, we hosted Fair Trade organizations several times. In fact, we aimed to host such groups in the Fall so that our congregation could purchase goods and then give them to family members as Christmas presents.

Problem: the goods were expensive. After all, who wants to purchase a bar of soap for $10 when we can buy a multi-pack of soap for much less?

And, if I purchased a necklace for a family member at $40, then it meant that I would have less money to get them other things.

The problem is simple: we were not willing to sacrifice our standard of living so that others might have enough to live on. We preferred to buy many presents from Target, Kohls, or wherever, than one gift from a fair trade company.

Is it wrong to ask “What is God’s will for me?”

I am not saying that asking, “What is God’s will for you?” is wrong. I am saying that we should rephrase the question in terms of “What is God’s will?” I am also saying that the question presumes a level of privilege that needs to be called out.

And, I would add, that our endeavors to find “God’s will” often come at the expense of the marginalized people of the world.

I am also not denying that God gives gifts and callings to each of us. And, I would add, that it is true that we often find our greatest joy and satisfaction when we work and live in accord with God’s gifting. This I will address further in my next post.

to be continued. . . .

Our goal is to keep these posts free of charge. I do not intend to ever hide them behind a paywall. I can only do this if those of you who have been blessed by them and can afford to give ($5, $10, $25, or more/month) do so. You can give a tax-deductible contribution by following this link.

Please share this post and let others know about determinetruth.

If you wish to view this blog on your smartphone through the Determinetruth app simply download the “tithe.ly church” app on your smartphone and insert “determinetruth” as the church name you wish to follow. Once it is loaded, simply click on the “blog” icon and it will automatically load.

If you would like to have Rob speak at your church or organization in person or via zoom, please let us know by filling out the contact info on the Contact me tab on this site.

General Christian

God's will

Poor

Worldview

About Rob Dalrymple

Rob Dalrymple is married to his wife Toni and is the father of four fabulous children, and two grandchildren. He has been teaching and pastoring for over 33 years at colleges, seminaries, and the local church. He has a PhD in biblical interpretation. He is the author of four books (including Follow the Lamb: A Guide to Reading, Understanding, and Applying the Book of Revelation & Understanding the New Testament and the End Times: Why it Matters) as well as numerous articles and other publications. He is currently completing a commentary on the book of Revelation titled, “Revelation: a Love Story” (Cascade Books, pending 2024). You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

April 28, 2023

Devotional guide: Rev 2:18-4:11

Next Post

May 5, 2023 Devotional Guide: Rev 5:1-7:17

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 000 1 Cor 11:17-34 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Peter 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 10 Commandments 2 Corinthians 2 John 2 Peter 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy 3 John 666 Abortion Acts 2:42 Ahmaud Arbery AIPAC All Saints Day America antisemitism BDS Beast Betting Bible Bible study Biblical Interpretation Biden Book of Acts Boycott Campus Protests Catholicism Ceasefire Chavez Ravine Christian Nationalism Christian Zionism Christianity Today Christmas Church Colossians Communion Convict Leasing Covid-19 Craig Blaising creation Crucifixion Daoud Nassar Deception Deconstruction Democracy Devotional guide Discipleship Easter Eden Education Election End-times Ephesians Eschatology Ethnic Cleansing Evangelicalism Evangelicals Evolution Fall Famine Fascism FIFA Freedom of Speech Galatians Gary Burge Gaza Gaza; Genocide; Boycott Genesis Genocide George Floyd Global Warming God's will Gospel Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Government Grace Great Prostitute Hamas Harris healthcare Hebrews HeGetsUs Holy Spirit Holy Week Honor Father and Mother ICJ Immigration Indigenous peoples day Iran Israel Israel Palestine Itamar Ben Gvir James Jesus Joel Willits Jude Just war Justice Kamala Harris Kingdom Of God Kings and Queens land of Israel Law (OT) Lazarus Les Miserable LGBTQ+ Love Luke Mahmoud Khalil Man of Lawlessness Mark Mark of the Beast Marriage Martin Luther King Jr Mercy Mexican Repatriation Military-Industrial-Complex Ministry Mission Money NAFTA Nakba Netanyahu New Creation New Testament Nicaragua Nicodemus Non Violence Occupation Pacifism Palestine Parable Paul Peace Pentecost Peonage Philemon Philippians Politics Poor Power Prayer Pride Month Priests Pro-life Propaganda Prophesy Prophet Qatar Queen Elizabeth Racism Reconstruction Redemption Reformation Resurrection Revelation Roe v Wade Romans Romans 13:1-7 Rome Russia Sabbath Samaritan Seals Sermon Settlements Slavery Spiritual gifts Taxes Tent of Nations Terrorism The Beast Theology Titus Torture Trump truth Ukraine Uncategorized Veteran's Day War Warsaw Ghetto wealth Wedding Women World Cup 2022 Worldview Worship Wrath Yemen Zionism

Select a Month September 2026 May 2026 February 2026 November 2025 October 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 September 2017 July 2017 May 2017 November 2016 October 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which sea did God part for the Israelites to escape Egypt?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Red Sea Sea of Galilee Dead Sea Jordan River

Support this
Column