Title: Just Do Something
Author: Kevin DeYoung
Publisher: Moody Publishers, 2009; 128 pp. $10.99
Recommendation (4-star scale): 
On my shelves and in my files are numerous books, pamphlets and articles on the topic of the will of God. Yet I recently acquired this book, Just Do Something, to augment my collection. Admittedly, the prime reason for my purchase was not the topic, but the author. His book Why We’re Not Emergent, is one of the best treatments of the emergent church that I’ve read. So I wanted to see what he had to say on this topic as well.
The subtitle to this book offers a clear picture of the author’s intent: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc.
That is, DeYoung writes from the perspective that God is sovereign over all things, but the sovereign will of God for an individual’s life is not something to be pursued or “discovered:”
So here’s the real heart of the matter: Does God have a secret will of direction that He expects us to figure out before we do anything? And the answer is no. Yes, God has a specific plan for our lives. And yes, we can be assured that He works things for our good in Christ Jesus. And yes, looking back we will often be able to trace God’s hand in bringing us to where we are. But while we are free to ask God for wisdom, He does not burden us with the task of divining His will of direction for our lives ahead of time. [p. 24]
To come to this conclusion, DeYoung distinguishes between three wills of God:
- God’s will of decree — that all people, events, governments, circumstances — all things — are ordained by and under the sovereign control of God (e.g., Eph. 1:11).
- God’s will of desire — how things “ought to be.” That is, this is God’s moral will — His commands and desires for how we are to live (e.g., 1 Jn. 2:15-17; Heb. 13:20-21).
- God’s will of direction — our desire for God to reveal His specific will for our own lives.
DeYoung effectively discusses these three kinds of wills and demonstrates that the first is largely unknown before the fact, the second is consistently revealed in the Word of God, and the latter is not taught in Scripture, and no where are we encouraged to pursue a knowledge of that kind of will.
DeYoung’s Biblical argument reads very much like Gary Friessen (Decision Making and the Will of God) and Gary Gilley (Is That You, Lord?), albeit more breifly and simply than either of those books. And that is reason enough to read this book.
However, DeYoung is not merely offering another voice on the will of God debate. He is writing with a specific objective. He is writing to 30-somethings (and younger), who as a generation, are more paralyzed in their decision making than previous generations. And one reason they are reticent to make decisions, DeYoung surmizes, is that they are fearful of making a decision outside of God’s will (as if anyone could do anything outside of the sovereign control of God).
My goal is not as much to tell you how to hear God’s voice in making decisions as it is to help you hear God telling you to get off the long road to nowhere and finally make a decision, get a job, and perhaps, get married.
And while the book is written with that in mind, it applies to everyone who has to make decisions (I reckon that includes most of us!).
One small point of disagreement with DeYoung: he still allows that God might on occasion still speak audibly and through visions to believers today. He would suggest that we can’t force God to talk, but that on occasion, He will surprise us with some communication. Frankly, this supposition is in contrast with the rest of the tenor of his book, and is unhelpful. God has spoken, in His Word, and still speaks today, but only through His Word, and not with audible voice.
Overall, however, this brief book is a concise and helpful overview of the topic of God’s will, with an appropriate call to action and decision making based on the revealed will of God in His Word.
Words of Grace 