Found: God's Will

John MacArthur's Found: God's Will has for many years been my go-to book to offer Christians a brief answer to the question of how they might understand God's will in their lives. When Christians ask about God's will, they are generally looking for advice on how to make a decision so as not to displease their Lord. MacArthur, in only a few pages (or just over an hour of an audio book), offers as clear an answer as anyone I've seen.Positives In his book and philosophy of discerning God's will, John MacArthur is first and foremost biblical. MacArthur makes it clear that the way for a Christian to understand God's will for his or her life is to be found in Scripture. MacArthur does not suggest any sort of strange, mystical, or superstitious use of Scripture, but a simple, clear, honest look at the text of God's word. We need more of this in Christendom. Besides being biblical, MacArthur is wonderfully freeing in his approach. Taking God's call in Psalm 37:4 to heart, the author concludes in his work that a Christian delighted in God and submitted to his commands will be free to do what he or she desires. This is by no means a license for sin, as the prerequisite for doing what you want is that you have first done what God has proclaimed is his will in clear texts of Scripture. MacArthur calls us to be saved, to be Spirit-filled, to be sanctified, to willingly suffer persecution for the sake of the gospel, and to be submitted to the authorities that God has placed over us. When those conditions are met, a believer will be free in his love for God to do whatever he desires without fearing somehow thwarting God's will. A final positive that I will mention is that this book is wonderfully brief, only 64 pamphlet-sized pages in print. MacArthur does not force his readers to wade through hundreds of pages to find the answer they are seeking to the question of how to make a decision about whom to marry or which college to attend.Negatives The brevity of MacArthur's work, though a positive, is also a negative. There are many challenges that MacArthur simply does not address, as his work is more a pamphlet than a scholarly defense of non-mystical decision-making. Thus, MacArthur does not address questions of spiritual gifts, "leadings" in prayer, or other methods people might declare useful for discerning God's will. We might also add that MacArthur's list of five categories to satisfy is not exhaustive. For example, MacArthur does not address the need for a believer not only to desire something biblical, but to also be convinced in his or her conscience that his or her actions are right (Rom 14:21). I do not doubt that MacArthur would agree with this added point, but his brief work did not allow for the addition of other points (nor does having a clear conscience begin with the letter S, thus potentially messing up the entire system [and for the humor-impaired, this parenthetical is sarcastic]).Recommendation While many God's will books have been written, I still find MacArthur's tiny work to be my first choice for helping believers begin to grasp that the word of God is sufficient for life's difficult decisions. There are other books that I like very much on this topic as well, including Kevin DeYoung's Just Do Something, but for a short, simple, and sound answer to the question, MacArthur's Found: God's Will is an excellent resource. I have no hesitation in recommending this little book to any believer.

Wow. First of all, I HIGHLY recommend this book. I had previously done a word study in the Bible about references to the “will of God.” MacArthur takes all of those verses that I had previously found and expounds on them in a very straightforward, practical, and convicting way. Wow, is this convicting! This definitely was not what I was expecting as a book, but it was totally what I needed to read right now. It hit on points in my prayer life, my Bible reading life, my evangelistic life, and more. I think I highlighted half of the book.It is a quick read—maybe took me an hour to read it (and pause and ponder)—so it seems like a very “approachable” book. It’s not something that is watered down though, because of brevity. Sure, MacArthur repeats some concepts, but it’s to cement them into the reader’s brain. Read this. I especially recommend it to teens and those in their twenties/thirties—usually that is the point in life where we are most open and teachable to knowing the reality of seeking and following God’s will.Some of the many quotes I highlighted:“You say you do not know what God’s will is, but I’ll tell you what it is. Above all it is that you know Christ and then that your neighbors hear about Christ. That is His will. So often we sit around twiddling our thumbs, dreaming about God’s will in some distant future when we are not even willing to stand up on our own two feet, walk down the street, and do God’s will right now.”“When Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, he had the same power as when he was standing next to Jesus Christ! Now there’s something exciting! Do you know what the Spirit-filled life is? It is living every moment as though you are standing in the presence of Jesus Christ!”“The more you study the Word of God, the more it saturates your mind and life. Someone is reported to have asked a concert violinist in New York’s Carnegie Hall how she became so skilled. She said that it was by “planned neglect.” She planned to neglect everything that was not related to her goal. Some less important things in your life could stand some planned neglect so that you might give yourself to studying the Word of God. Do you know what would happen? The more you would study the Word of God, the more your mind would be saturated with it. It will be no problem then for you to think of Christ. You won’t be able to stop thinking of Him.”

Very good read. Gave me a good understanding of how to proceed. I highly recommend this book to all who are concerned for God's will in their lives.

Pastor MacArthur approaches finding the will of God in a different way. His view is a little unconventional but biblical. I wish he had unpacked some of the concepts a little more. It is a good read to start on your journey to discover God's will for your life.

Short, easy to read, but deeply impactful. This book cleared up a lot for me. I think it will for you as well. I can definitely see buying a few extra copies for friends.

Just like described! Thank you.

MacArthur provides great Biblical insights for those who honestly want to find the will of The Lord God in their lives. Accurate and to the point. Stop looking for it in the dark and come to the Word of God with the help of his bond-slave John MacArthur and find out what your Father, The Almighty God has prepared for you to do.

Bought the book 2 years back but couldnt understand it .........God made me read it again after two years but this time I understood the words.

Haven't had time to read it, but scanned through it and am looking forward to reading it.

A must read book for all believers who desire to know God's will everyday of the pleasing Him in all things

"How can a Christian know the will of God for his or her life?" This is an age-old question especially when we are at a decision cross-road in life. But when we ask this question, we have an expectation of what kind of answers we wish to get - we would like God to function almost like a fortune teller who will point out the fortune for us. Once again this kind of commonly phrased question and expectation of answer proves that our mind is not reformed.The answer provides in this book is refreshing. There is a very basic principle in Christian life - rather than being bogged down with what we don't know (the specific choices in our life in this context), focus on what we do know. I think MacArthur is right in pointing out that once we have professed our faith, there is a long road ahead of us in discipleship. God's will is not about what we do but who we are as persons! This is what He is interested in, first and foremost. Once we get that right, the rest will fall into place.MacArthur takes us through five spiritual principles: it is God's will that we are saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive and suffering. His exposition is Scriptural based, and patiently guides us what each of the principles means. It is an exposition of Christian life, which requires first and foremost our love for Christ, followed by our resolve, daily effort and discipline. We will not get there without investing our time and effort in our relationship with Christ. There is no short-cut. To know Christ is to know the Bible.When we are in that place, with all five spiritual principles checked, I believe we will know God's will in our heart. And the opening question is no longer relevant.The question is asked in a way as if God's will was external to us. But when our life is Spirit-filled, we will know from inside us what His will is - at least in the general direction of how we live. When comes to the specifics, I think MacArthur's advice is sound too - move and God will steer.Therefore I believe MacArthur is right in pointing us to examine our Christian walk with God in answering this question. I have seen friends who are full of enthusiasm to do God's work, specifically to enter the mission field. But when I look at their life, I have my doubts - are they equipped? How are they spending their time? If we look at Hudson Taylor's life, for example, he spent years practising walking with Christ and exercising his faith before he went out to China. Why? I believe that we have to be mature before we can guide others. But I believe more importantly, it is God's way to protect us before He will send us out. We will suffer for His name and we will face temptations. Without a solid grounding, strong faith and firm understanding ourselves, how are we to survive the relentless trials? We will stumble at the first hurdle, or our endurance fails us.I think therefore it is right before we ask the opening question, our immediate step is to focus on if we are fit for the purpose. MacArthur is right in saying, "He's using experiences in your life to shape you into His will." (p.75)I believe we all have this frustration from our early teens and wonder what we are to do with our life. We are impatient to launch. But with God, waiting time is never an idle time - He uses that time to train us. May we all submit to His timing and His plan for us.