If you are thinking of making an important decision in your life, I would recommend you read Bruce Waltke’s book, Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion? It’s a very quick read which is nice if you need to make a quick decision (tongue –in-cheek). But don’t let it’s short length fool you. The biblical principles that Dr. Waltke establishes in this book will save you much heartache in the decision-making process. The title really sums up the book well. We decision-makers often take a pagan approach by trying to find God’s will behind door #1. Too many Christians are ruled more by ‘coincidences’ than by God’s Word. And in chapter 2, “How Pagans Divine the Will of God,” Waltke notes that “everyone wants to know the mind of God,” a very pagan paradigm that leads to man trying to find God in all things, in the spirit-world, in idols, in nature.

The reality is that finding God’s will was never a task of God’s people. God’s Word had always been revealed to God’s people and so it was plain for all to see. However, people were never satisfied with God’s Word. They often sought something else, something out there. Hence, Christians have no sought to ‘find God’s will’ in the same way the Jews sought to find God in the Canaanite gods, and in the same way the Canaanites sought to find God in their idols.

So Bruce Waltke writes in response to this situation: “The Lord provides a six-point program of supervised care in directing His elect. The order of those steps is very important. You cannot start in the middle and skip to the end. If you want to be clear on God’s guidance for your life, you must begin with the first step, then move to the second.” (p. 59). These six points are:

1) Read your Bible, 2) Develop a heart for God, 3) Seek wise counsel, 4) Look for God’s providence, 5) Does this make sense, and 6) divine intervention. Each must be understood in sequential order for it to be biblical. And these six points will really help those who want to follow God first and obey His commands as they make decisions in their lives.

I would highly recommend Bruce Waltke’s book.