I’ve read several “will of God books,” but Kevin DeYoung’s Just Do Something is the best so far. DeYoung is insightful, witty, and helpful to believers who are asking the question, “How do I know if this is the will of God?”
Positives
The content of DeYoung’s position on understanding the will of God is the book’s greatest strength. DeYoung takes the mysticism and paralysis out of the life of many believers by helping them to see that God’s will is not some sort of inexplicable gut feeling or spiritual nudge that they have to be sure not to mistake. As the title suggests, when a believer is prayerfully walking with Christ, following God’s revealed commands in the Bible, and seeking proper biblical counsel, he or she is free to “just do something” when it comes to non-moral life decisions—even the significant ones like careers and marriage.
Other strengths of this book include DeYoung’s catchy, often humorous, down-to-earth style. While DeYoung knows his stuff, he does not present it in such a way as to make one think that he or she needs a degree to be able to access the info in this work.
Negatives
That style I just applauded, some won’t like it. If a reader is someone who has been given to more mystical or charismatic methods of attempting to discover God’s will of desire in their lives, they may be insulted by DeYoung’s tongue in cheek style at times. While DeYoung is never crude or crass in any way, his way of poking fun at those who feel a need to hear from God about whether they should have Frosted Flakes or oatmeal (my example, not his) might be a little too edgy for highly sensitive readers.
Recommendation
This book is helpful, catchy, biblically solid, and brief. All Christians ponder at one point or another how to know what God’s will is for their lives. Without question, I would recommend this work to a multitude of believers.
It took me a few minutes to grow accustomed to the narrator here. I’m more used to the booming, solemn-voiced readers of Christian works. This one is read by a younger guy who clearly gets DeYoung’s wit. I don’t consider this narrator a plus or a minus, just a different style than I generally hear. But, you have to admit, a 3 hour audio book is not a bad investment of time.
Pastor Travis Peterson 