This is a simple book about how to know about God's will in our daily life. It is so engaging so I want to recooment to all of you to read.

In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudson

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In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudon (https://amzn.to/3ZZdsK3) will be released on 11/5/24.

Article Snapshot
Book Review Rating: 9/10
This Book Is:
- A field guide for discernment.
- Full of exercises to practice discernment.
- Short (160 pages) and written in a very accessible style.
- For discernment in all stages of life.
- Similar to the ideas of Dallas Willard and Richard Foster.

This Book Is Not:
- An academic book about God's will in the abstract.

My Takeaways:
1) Being Instead of Doing:
My top takeaway from reading In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudson is the importance of learning to focus on being instead of doing. I am good at making a list of boxes to check so that I can still be in control and measure my success. This approach may be effective for some aspects of life, but it is not the way to true spiritual growth.

Being is more about who we are than what we do. When I focus on who I am and who I am becoming, I quickly realize that I am not in control. The best that I can do is put myself in the posture to cooperate with the Spirit and seek to know God better.

2) The Spirit is Quiet, Hidden, and Subtle:
If the Spirit is quiet, hidden, and subtle, then I need to regularly prioritize times of solitude. Life can become quite full with work, family, and church commitments. If I add in friends, hobbies, and rest, it truly takes intentionality to make time to pray and listen to God. For me, this also means finding the times where I am at my best and not the spare minutes I have left where I am tired and distracted.

3) The Prayer of Examen:

One of the practices that has historically helped me best attend to the movements of the heart has been the prayer of Examen from St. Ignatius:
- Ask for the help of the Spirit.
- Notice the gifts or blessings you have received throughout the day.
- Review the moods, thoughts, emotions, and feelings that you have experienced throughout the day.
- Reflect on failures to respond to God's love and to express it to others.
- Look forward to tomorrow and ask for whatever help and guidance is needed to make God's dream more real in your life.

When I first started doing this daily, I realized that I couldn't see how God was working in much of anything throughout my day. I wasn't paying attention. This spurred me to focus my attention more in the subsequent days. It did not take long to then see more clearly how God was working in my day-to-day life. From there, I started to proactively think about what God has for me in each moment and to practice experiencing the presence of God more consistently.

Book Summary - In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudson

This book is a field guide for discernment. The book is not an academic book about God's will in the abstract. It is intended to be read in community as a means of practicing discernment. There are numerous discernment exercises that will guide you through questions, meditations, and prayers based on the content of each chapter.

The foundation for understanding God's will is understanding our relationship to God.

You have been desired into existence by a Great Love. You are meant to be here. You are known by name. You have been chosen. You have been called by name. Your life has a unique, God-given meaning. Your unrepeatable life matters.
In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudson

Part 1 - Introducing God's Will

God has a general will that has been revealed through the Bible that tells us all how to live. There are principles for wisdom on how to love God and love others. God also has a specific, personal will for each of us. This personal will is something that we have to discover.

It is about discovering the message that we are called to deliver, the song we are called to sing, and that special act of love that we alone can give.
In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudson

Becoming the person God wants us to be requires understanding our three selves. First, we have an "external self" that we present to the world. Second, we have a "present self" that is made up of all that we are today. Third, we have a "becoming self" that is the person God is transforming us into. God has created good works for us to do for the sake of others.

Discernment is how we discover our personal calling from God. The Bible does not give us the level of detail we need to apply its wisdom to our specific circumstances, so we much learn discernment. We also cannot solely rely on pastors or elders to tell us what to do. We need to learn to discern God's will for ourselves.

Here are three thoughts on how to do that:
- Recognize God's active presence in all things. Everything requires discernment on some level.
- Listen to the divine whisper. The Spirit is often quiet, hidden, and subtle. We need to make time to be still and listen to God.
- Keep God's big dream alive. Let God's redemptive vision drive our search for what he wants us to do to further his will on earth as it is in heaven.

Part 2 - Discerning God's Will

The first step in discerning God's personal will for our lives is to align our hearts with God's heart by surrendering daily to God's guidance and leading. Here Hudson draws on the works of David Benner.

See our David Benner Book reviews:
- Surrender to Love by David G. Benner
- The Gift of Being Yourself by David G. Benner
- Desiring God’s Will by David G. Benner

How To Listen to God

The next step is to learn to listen to God. We usually think of prayer as talking to God, but a relationship requires two-way communication. Here are thoughts on how to do that:
- God speaks to us through Scripture. The Scripture does not just communicate information to us. It is also the means by which the Spirit communicates to us today.
- It is important to distinguish between God and the Bible. We should learn to listen to the person behind the words.
- When we read Scripture, we should approach it with a posture of wanting to learn to love God more deeply.
- When reading Scripture, we should view it through Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of God's plan for redemption.
- Pray the Scriptures as our prayer to God. This can be done through practices like Lectio Divina.
- Attend to the movements of our hearts. Where do we feel ourselves being drawn toward God (consolation) and where do we feel drawn away from God (desolation).

How To Discern God's Will

The next part is about using our gifts to make an impact in God's kingdom as a blessing to others. We do this by first affirming our unique giftedness. Then naming our unique giftedness. Lastly, exercising our unique giftedness.

Next, we learn to discern God's will by reflecting on our experiences and our circumstances. First, reflect on the state of your personal relationships. Second, reflect on your daily work. Third, reflect on your engagement with the pain and suffering in your community. The prayer of Examen from St. Ignatius is a practice to help with this.

Last, we learn to discern God's will through sacred conversations with others. God can reveal himself through any conversation in our daily lives. This happens when we learn to listen well, develop the ability to ask wondering questions, and we risk sharing what is most real in our own lives.

Part 3 - Practicing God's Will

The third section moves from learning how to discern God's personal will to how to make faithful decisions. Discerning God's will should lead to eventually making a decision to take an action. Most of the time, we are not deciding between good and evil actions, but between multiple good actions.

We can learn to make faithful decisions by asking God for guidance. When asking, we may receive a clear word from the Lord or a strong sense of certainty. In this case it is still wise to talk it over with a trusted friend. In the case where there is no clear direction, we should proceed with lives as usual while paying attention to what is happening in our inner and outer lives. Do we get a sense of leading (consolation), a change in circumstances, or insight from a sacred conversation?

If there is still no guidance from God, here are some thoughts to consider:
- God wants us to use our common sense.
- Sometimes God wants us to do what we most want to do.
- God wants us to be creative.

We often think what we do is more important than who we become. The "being" aspect of our individual calling is often more important than what we do. God transforms us when we cooperate with the work of his Spirit. We become open to the spirit when we contemplate the glory of God. We learn to rejoice in our own uniqueness.

My Top Takeaways - In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudson

Being Instead of Doing

My top takeaway from reading In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudson is the importance of learning to focus on being instead of doing. I am good at making a list of boxes to check so that I can still be in control and measure my success. This approach may be effective for some aspects of life, but it is not the way to true spiritual growth.

Being is more about who we are than what we do. When I focus on who I am and who I am becoming, I quickly realize that I am not in control. The best that I can do is put myself in the posture to cooperate with the Spirit and seek to know God better.

The Spirit is Quiet, Hidden, and Subtle.

If the Spirit is quiet, hidden, and subtle, then I need to regularly prioritize times of solitude. Life can become quite full with work, family, and church commitments. If I add in friends, hobbies, and rest, it truly takes intentionality to make time to pray and listen to God. For me, this also means finding the times where I am at my best and not the spare minutes I have left where I am tired and distracted.

The Prayer of Examen

One of the practices that has historically helped me best attend to the movements of the heart has been the prayer of Examen from St. Ignatius.

1) Ask for the help of the Spirit.
2) Notice the gifts or blessings you have received throughout the day.
3) Review the moods, thoughts, emotions, and feelings that you have experienced throughout the day.
4) Reflect on failures to respond to God's love and to express it to others.
5) Look forward to tomorrow and ask for whatever help and guidance is needed to make God's dream more real in your life.

When I first started doing this daily, I realized that I couldn't see how God was working in much of anything throughout my day. I wasn't paying attention. This spurred me to focus my attention more in the subsequent days. It did not take long to then see more clearly how God was working in my day-to-day life. From there, I started to proactively think about what God has for me in each moment and to practice experiencing the presence of God more consistently.

My Evaluation - In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudson

In Search of God's Will by Trevor Hudson is a practical field guide about how to listen to God and discern his will. The concepts align well with the Dallas Willard and Richard Foster stream of Spiritual Formation. The most valuable part of the book is the discernment exercises. Discernment cannot remain theoretical, and Trevor Hudson provides a roadmap for how to practice discernment in the circumstances of your life right now. It is a short book (160 pages), so you may spend more time doing the exercises than actually reading the book.

I found this approach particularly helpful in middle age as I think about what God has for me in the second half of life, but the principles are aptly suited to any stage of life.

Conclusion
At Faithful Intellect, our goal with book reviews is to explore the ideas and implications of the author and also share the top takeaways and critiques that shape our thinking. We hope that you will benefit from these insights even if you aren’t able to read the book yourself.

Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

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Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Books:
Seeking God: Finding Another Kind of Life with St. Ignatius and Dallas Willard (https://amzn.to/404JPai)
Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God by Dallas Willard (https://amzn.to/3U8Zj9p)
Desiring God's Will by David Benner (https://amzn.to/47yIg4C)

Also take a look at our Resources page for what has influenced our thinking.
Take a look at our other Blog posts for articles engaging culture with faith and reason.

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