Disclaimers

Whenever I do a book report, I start wondering, “What if people think I accept, unequivocally, everything in the book?” Because this is such a public forum, I thought maybe I should give a few disclaimers. 🙂 For your information, you should never read a book gullibly, just because someone else recommends it. But as the one recommending, I will give you a few reasons why Just Do Something impacted me so profoundly, as well as a few questions I have. 

One of the reasons it took me so long to read this book is because of the rather shocking, or should I say, illuminating way the author stated some of his thoughts. I read and reread and cogitated long. Take for example: “God doesn’t care what job you do, as long as you can do it in righteousness.” That “God doesn’t care” part had me stumped for a while. I thought God cares about all the details of our lives? But the longer I read, the more I understood what he was saying: Don’t wait around for years being idle, hoping your destiny will smack you in the face one day. Just do something.

The book is written with a huge emphasis on the sovreignty of God, (the author is a Calvinist) something I feel like I only dimly comprehend, yet which is tremendously comforting to me. I like to know things, understand them, ducks in a row, that sort of thing. I have whacked my head against the wall of the inscrutable. I have wailed WHY into an empty heaven and found no answers. Except the reality of Who God is, ever present. No matter what happens in the future, He is there! 

I suppose that is why this book impressed me, the emphasis that the God of the Universe is present in my daily circumstances, not some distant Deity who amuses himself while I try to figure out just exactly what He wants me to do. 

When I was younger, I had an opportunity to go on a short term mission trip to Africa. I pretty much drained all my resources paying for my ticket, paperwork, yellow fever shot, etc. The last week before we left, I found out about another expense, 55 dollars for a visa, or some such. Where was I going to get this money? Suddenly I remembered a jar of change I had on my dresser and I went to count it. It was 55 dollars and 55 cents.

I took that as a sign that God would be with me on our trip. And He was! But what I didn’t understand was that I didn’t really need a sign. As His child, I could simply lay claim to the outrageous promise, “Lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the world.” 

There have been many times in my life when God has been so kind as to reassure me of His presence through tangible ways. So I wasn’t quite sure about the chapter where he addressed signs and supernatural leading. I am still not quite sure. 🙂 However, I concur wholeheartedly with the warning that “God told me to do it,” (dreams, liver shivers, fleeces) in total disregard of the Bible, is a bunch of baloney. 

I read these verses last week…

The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him,

in those that hope in his mercy. Psalm 147:11

 

For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people:

he will beautify the meek with salvation. Psalm 149:4

 

The Lord takes pleasure in His people… not because they are always in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing. He takes pleasure in them because they are His righteous flavor on Earth, willingly presenting themselves to His service, whatever that may be.

I like that simplicity. What about you?