John Ortberg - What Is Gods Will for My Life?

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What Is Gods Will for My Life?

Copyright 2016 by John Ortberg. All rights reserved.

Portions of this book are adapted from All the Places to Go... How Will You Know?, copyright 2015 by John Ortberg.

Cover illustration copyright 2014 by Jeff Gregory. All rights reserved.

Designed by Jacqueline L. Nuez

Edited by Jonathan Schindler

Published in association with Yates & Yates (www.yates2.com).

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked CEB are taken from the Common English Bible, copyright 2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-4964-1564-6

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T HIS BOOK IS FOR YOU the one who decides.

Whether your decisions look large or small. Whether you are running a large company or are all by yourself. Our decisions are our lives.

If you have ever been uncertain about what to do.

If youve ever prayed for wisdom but still didnt know which road to choose.

If youve ever been awake late at night because a past decision haunted you and you wished you could take it back.

If youve ever been so frustrated that you were tempted to flip a coin just to get the decision behind you.

If youve ever made a rash decision in a short time and lived to regret it for a long time.

If youve ever procrastinated on a decision and lost an opportunity.

If youve ever come to doubt your ability to choose wisely at all.

If youve ever wondered where God is in all this; if youve ever been afraid you were missing signals from heaven; if youve ever wondered whether youre proceeding from fleshly presumption or divine guidance; if youve ever felt the pressure that you might be choosing less than Gods best for your life

This book is for you.

F OR I KNOW THE PLANS I have for you, declares the L ORD , plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

What an amazing thought. Those words first came to the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah when they were suffering in exile and all their plans had gone unfulfilled and it seemed as though they had no hope at all.

But that promise doesnt only relate to them. For thousands of years millions of people have been encouraged by the thought that the God of the universe cares about them. And the writers of Scripture say not only that God has a plan or a will for us, but that we can come to know it. The apostle Paul wrote, Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2).

So God has a will for your life, its good (and pleasing and perfect!), and you can come to know it.

And yet for many people the thought of Gods will raises troubling questions even as it provides encouragement.

If God has a will for my life, why does it often seem so difficult to discover? How specific is it? Does God have one person for me to marry, or one job for me to take, or one place for me to live? What happens if I choose something that wasnt Gods will for my life am I stuck with less than Gods best for my future? Why is it that some people seem to have so much more clarity than I do about Gods will? How do I know for sure whether a choice is really Gods will for me or just something I want to do?

This is not simply an abstract question that theologians wrestle over. If I get details about the end times wrong, I can still lead the right life. But one of the weightiest aspects of human life is I must choose. And my choices create my life. My choices create my destiny. I dont want to miss that!

Maybe youre facing graduation. More than anything else, young adults want to work at a job that inspires them, that has meaning. Maybe your prayer is God, I dont want to choose mostly based on money or security or reputation. Help me find a calling that is worth my life.

Maybe youre in a relationship, and youre confused about the next step. You always thought that when you found your soul mate, you would just know. Yet now you just dont know. What if you marry this person and then meet your real soul mate at the reception?

Maybe youre in transition. People are changing jobs, companies, and whole careers more often than ever before. Career specialist Andy Chan notes that young adults will hold on average twenty-nine jobs over the course of their lives. Oxford researchers predict that over the next two decades about half the jobs that exist today will be replaced by technology. How do you adapt to a changing environment? How do you weigh the options well?

Maybe youre in a rut. Your life is safe, but its not fulfilling. There is something gnawing inside of you, the call of the open door.

Maybe youre facing an empty nest. You have freedom and time and possibilities that have not been available for decades, but youre not sure what to do with them.

Maybe youre retiring, but you know the word retire is not in the Bible, and youre not ready for death or shuffleboard. What might God have for you next?

Maybe you have a great passion for a cause. Youve seen a great need that just gnaws at you, or you studied a problem and want to make a difference. Whats the next step? Whom do you talk to?

Maybe youre a student trying to decide which school to go to or which major to choose.

Maybe youre on the brink of an exciting adventure. Maybe youve been frustrated by a lost opportunity, and you wonder, Does God still have another one for me?

Your life is about more than safety. Its about more than security. Its about more than manageability. If youre looking for that stuff, you were born into the wrong species.

God has a plan for you. But that doesnt mean God wants to make all your decisions for you. This leads to one of the most gnawing questions about the will of God.