Decisions

There are some times in life when everything just seems to be confused. There are some decisions that just seem too big to make. There are questions that just don’t seem to have answers. There are times when you know God is there, but He just seems to be silent. What do you do in those times? Do you just wait them out? Do you just stand on faith and believe that you will get through and just wait? Or are we called to fight? Are we called to fight for the truth? Are we called to fight for what we believe is right? How do we know? How do we know how to say “no” to some things, and “yes” to others? How do we know what it is that God is saying when we don’t hear his voice? How do we know when we don’t understand which way is up. Do we just stand and wait, or do we fight for that knowledge?

I believe that there is direction! I believe that there is direction in Christ! I believe that there may be a battle, but the war is already won! I believe that even when we don’t see what way is up, when we don’t know which way we are to go, we can trust on the promises of God. We can trust his word! He says in Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” That means to me that we can plan all that we want, we can get stressed, we can try so hard to do what is “right”, but in the end, the Lord will prevail. Why do we get so worried? Look at Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps”. Very much the same concept; we can even try to do something against God, we can be independent and try to plan our own way, but God still is the one who is determining our footsteps. Why do we worry so much? God has promised us guidance. Look at Isaiah 30:20, 21 “Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it”.

            He will be there for us, especially when we are looking to follow him. Take a look at Matthew 6:33,34 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. Or Proverbs 3:5,6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”.  Those are some pretty amazing promises. I think instead of trying so hard to plan which way we are going in life, let’s just take some time going after God. I think what we need more than anything is closeness to God.

Proverbs 16:33 states “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” He is the one that plans our footsteps. Jeremiah 10:23 says “I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps” According to these verses, it is not even our job to plan our steps. God is the one who is directing us. All we got to do is simply rest in him. I like the way that Psalm 37:3-6 states it “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun”. We don’t have to do a whole lot, just delight ourselves in the Lord; trust completely in him. Stop having so much faith in our own capability to make decisions and trust in God’s.

Can we stop spending all our time worrying about which way is up; worrying about hearing God’s voice; worrying about whether to say “yes” or “no” to things in life, and just spend some real quality time with Him? Can we focus on what really matters and trust him to take care of the rest? I know, I know, all that comes up is the but… but… but… what about this decision that needs to be made today? What about the money that I have to have tomorrow? What about the person I have to give an answer to? What about the business that I want to start? Just stop thinking about these questions for a moment and start meditating on the verses above. Once we truly let go, I believe that God will make the answers abundantly clear to us. Look at the promises, meditate on the verses, and then step out and do something! Stop spending your time wallowing in your own indecision. Make a decision, and then stand on it by faith. By faith believing that the above promises really are true and that He WILL guide us! Don’t be so afraid to make a mistake! There IS victory in Christ!