Sometimes one book leads to another. In John Mark Comer’s book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, he mentions meeting regularly with John Ortberg. Therefore, I found myself reading a John Ortberg book mentioned in Comer’s footnotes, All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know?: God Has Placed Before You an Open Door. What Will You Do? ($8.54 for the Kindle edition on Amazon.) The book is a sometimes whimsical but also an extremely thought-provoking read. It is whimsical because throughout the book Ortberg references and occasionally imitates the writing style of Dr. Seuss. However, I also found the book thought provoking because it challenges some of my long-held assumptions about seeking God’s guidance, especially when it comes to walking through open doors, and principles for decision making.
A Fun “Tip of the Hat” to Theodor Geisel
Obviously, the Dr. Seuss book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, was a source of inspiration for Ortberg. Therefore, he quotes the Theodor Seuss Geisel work early in his book:
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose. . . .
Oh, the places you’ll go! . . .
Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.
Orberg follows up by offering his take on the story of Abraham and Sarah in a whimsical Seussian fashion:
Abram and Sarai, today is the day!
So get your dad, Terah, and get on your way.
You will wander like nomads, and I even think maybe
You might have a nonagenarian baby.
You’ll be marked by your faith, you’ll be marked by a vision,
You’ll be marked by (you might not love this) circumcision.
Like stars in the sky your descendants will be,
Though you will tell lies indiscriminately.
You’ll get lost and confused and be badly afraid. You will wait till quite late and mistakes will be made.
You won’t know what to say, you won’t know what to do,
But all peoples on earth will get blessings through you.
With your muddled-up faith you’ll do more than you know, And I promise you this: Oh, the places you’ll go!
An Open Door is an Opportunity Provided by God
The book defines an open door as “an opportunity provided by God, to act with God and for God.” Ortberg observes, “God doesn’t say, ‘I’ve set before you a hammock.’ He doesn’t say, ‘I’ve set before you a detailed set of instructions about exactly what you should do and exactly what will happen as a result.’” Ortberg writes, “God often does not tell us which door to choose.” He calls this, “one of God’s most frustrating characteristics.”
Why doesn’t God speak more often in a clear and specific way? According to Ortberg, “God’s primary will for your life is that you become a magnificent person in his image, somebody with the character of Jesus.” He goes on to write,
Very often God’s will for you will be “I want you to decide” because decision making is an indispensable part of character formation. God is primarily in the character-forming business, not the circumstance-shaping business.
Seek Wisdom Instead of Certainty
When we feel that we lack certainty, we can become paralyzed by “decidophobia”– the fear of making a wrong decision. However, Ortberg observes “ . . . when we look at the Bible, there is no chapter devoted to ‘How to know God’s will for your life.’” Then, he goes on to cite the following Scriptures:
If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you (James 1:5 NRSV).
This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best (Philippians 1:9-10 NIV).
Ortberg counsels, “If I’m facing a choice and I want to find God’s will for my life, I don’t begin by asking which choice is God’s will for my life. I need to begin by asking for wisdom. . . . The biggest difference between people who flourish in life and those who don’t is not money, health, talent, connections, or looks. It’s wisdom—the ability to make good decisions.” Ortberg suggests not only praying for wisdom, but also knowing ourselves, studying the situation and our options, and asking advice from wise and trusted friends.
Are You an “Impulsive” or a “Resister”?
When it comes to how we respond to open doors there are two broad categories of response styles, “impulsive” and “resisters.” Impulsives are strong-willed and tend to “jump through . . . (doors) without thinking ahead or counting the cost. Their great need is for discernment.” On the other hand, resisters have a strong intellect, are contemplative, slow moving, and “tend to shrink back. Their great need is for courage.” Since I find myself in this second more-contemplative category, I would do well to heed Ortberg’s warning that resisters “face the temptation of rationalizing passivity and saying no to the open door of God.” I don’t want to become what Ortberg calls a fearful “staytheist” who stays and clings to the known and comfortable rather than discerning open doors from God and walking forward in faith.
Advice for Impulsives:
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- Ask counsel from wise friends before plunging forward with an idea.
- Cultivate relationships with people who are . . . wise but strong enough to hold you accountable.
- Spend time praying . . . before assuming that your intuition is a divine command.
- Study and read . . . before you commit yourself to action.
- Spend some time in reflection, perhaps with wise people you trust . . . before . . . your next contest.
- Make a commitment, and then actually stick to it even when the next impulse, which looks so much more fun, comes along.
Advice for Resistors:
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- Fail at something . . . Discover that failure isn’t fatal.
- Try being wrong. Try letting other people know that sometimes you are wrong.
- Find a project so big that you know you cannot do it unless God is helping you.
- Hang around with some impulsive types. Watch how they take risks without actually dying.
- Practice going through small doors.
- Make a decision that’s good enough instead of perfect.
- Be scared. Obey God anyway.
The Danger of Over Spiritualizing Decisions
The part of this book that gives me the greatest pause is Ortberg’s contention that “one of the worst, overspiritualized traps people fall into when faced with a daunting opportunity: (is) the ‘I just don’t feel peace about it’ excuse for capitulating to fear or to laziness.” By contrast, I have always felt that an inner, God-given peace is a key indicator of the right path. For the most part, this belief has served me well. However, I can also see that fear or discomfort with change can also be the source of unsettled feelings. Such feelings could be mistaken for an absence of God’s peace and blessing. Therefore, wisdom is needed to discern the true source and nature of any perceived unrest.
A Book Worth Revisiting
There are a handful of books that I re-read and frequently revisit. This one may join my short list. My Kindle edition of the book is full of underlined passages and I’m working my way through the audio version of the book for a second time during my commute. Therefore, I recommend John Ortberg’s All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know?: God Has Placed Before You an Open Door. What Will You Do? as a worthwhile read.