2022 is here! Are you struggling with big decisions? Small decisions? God’s will for your life?
If so, don’t ask President Joe Biden what to do. Because he has no idea.
On December 22, President Biden was interviewed by ABC anchor David Muir, who asked Biden if he intended to seek reelection. Biden promised in 2020 that he would serve eight years if he was elected, so it was a fair question.
Biden responded, “Yes, but look, I’m a great respecter of fate. Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I’m in the health I’m in now—if I’m in good health—then, in fact, I would run again.”
Well, that’s a meaningless head-scratcher, so Muir pressed Biden for specifics. He asked whether Biden would run again if Trump were to oppose him in 2024.
With an impish grin, Biden responded. “You’re trying to tempt me now? Sure. Why would I not run against Donald Trump if he were the nominee? That would increase the prospect of running.”
Is it biblical?
It’s a bit unsettling to hear the leader of the free world admit that his personal decisions are based on “fate,” and, in the same breath, to trivialize the electoral process with chuckles and grins. But, that aside, for our purposes (as always) we are more concerned here with advancing a biblical worldview.
So, is Biden’s view of decision making biblical? Absolutely not.
In all fairness, your future decisions might indeed be influenced by personal health, and someone else’s decisions might impact your decisions. No problem with that.
But when Biden calls himself a “respecter of fate” and instructs that “fate has intervened” in his life “many, many times,” he is making “fate” the ultimate factor for guiding his life, as if “fate,” chance, or luck has a say in the outcome of events. That’s plainly unbiblical.
The problem with trusting fate
See, fate is not a thing. It doesn’t take action, cause changes in your life, or impose decisions on you. The Bible doesn’t recognize “fate” as a decisive force, nor does the Bible acknowledge luck as creating good outcomes in your life.
Why? Because you cannot actually “trust” fate or luck. Try to nurture a relationship with luck. Nothing there. Call out and try to hear fate respond. Only silence.
See, when you say you trust fate or luck, you are really saying two things. First, that you have no idea what to do, so you will let the circumstances decide. And second, that you do not trust God. Why? Because you cannot trust fate and God at the same time.
In fact, the Bible explicitly warns Christians against the waffling and vacillating that accompanies a dependence on the circumstances (James 1:5-7). It shows a lack of faith in God.
Even so, if you are a Christian, most likely you yearn to be sure you are doing what God wants you to do. Most of us are motivated to do our best to make sure our actions respect God’s will. So, how do we know if we are doing what God wants us to do?
It begins with remembering one key fact.
God is a Person you can trust
Trusting God is the opposite of trusting fate or luck. God is an active Agent. He orchestrates human history (Is. 14:24). And He guides our personal history as part of His grand history. We are to view everything we do from an eternal, God’s-eye-view (Rom. 8:28).
In the Bible, one overarching, all-encompassing assumption guides the decisions of people who seek to do what God wants: God is in charge (Is. 46:9-10). And He is trustworthy, and all that He does is good and right (Ps. 145:9).
That means that the person of faith must willfully choose God’s will or refuse God’s will (Luke 11:28).
From that, remember these three key truths:
- God’s will is not a thing that is lost waiting to be found.
Christians frequently claim to be seeking God’s will. No doubt, the desire is sincere. So, we ponder. We pray. Ask friends. Go to church. All good things to do.
But there is one problem. God’s will is not a mystery to be solved or a lost object to be recovered. And how can you “find” something that was never lost in the first place?
So, how do you discern God’s will? By knowing God (Jer. 33:3). God’s will is relational. The better you know Him, the better you know what He wants (John 5:19-20).
In 2022, keep that principle in mind. Don’t make your primary objective to know God’s will. Instead, make your objective to know God, and by that you will know His will.
- In most cases, God has already told you what to do.
God has already revealed His desires and His will on many matters. It’s in the Bible. Our problem is not that we don’t know God’s will, but that we decide to decline it, refuse it, or ignore it.
When our decision-making begins by asking, “What is God’s will for me?” we have started with the wrong question. Instead, ask first, what is God’s will for all Christians? In the Bible, God has already said what He wants, and faced with a decision, your choice should not conflict with what God already says or the principles the Bible already teaches.
For instance, God has stated clearly that marriage should be honored by all and that sexual activity outside of marriage is sin (Heb 13:4, 1 Thess. 4:3). God already made that decision for you.
God also says that He wants you to cultivate humility (Phil. 2:1-11), grow in Christ and become more holy (1 Thess. 4:3), put your siblings in Christ ahead of your own desires (Phil. 2:3-4), proactively forgive other Christians (Eph. 4:32), and to exercise generosity in your finances (2 Cor. 9:7). You don’t have to wonder about these things, or seek what God wants you to do. He already told you.
See, most of the time, when it comes to making decisions, we do not have a knowledge problem. We have an obedience problem (John 14:15). And when we refuse to do what God clearly says is the right thing to do, we show a lack of faith in Him (Prov. 3:5-6, Heb. 11:6).
- God gave you free will. Use it.
Based on the first two truths, you can assume that you are operating in God’s will when you make decisions that are faithful to His Word and which require you to invest faith in Him.
So rather than seek to “find” God’s will, ask Him for wisdom to apply His will in your life. Biblical decision making is about wisely acting on God’s will to honor your relationship with Him (Prov. 18:15, James 1:5).
This new year, don’t wait for “fate” or luck to intervene. Trust God enough to live by what He says. You might be surprised to find that He has already told you what to do, and that He knows what’s best for you.
He’s just waiting for you to trust Him enough to act on what He says.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
Prov. 3:5-6
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight