DECISONS, DECISONS, DECISONS!

BIBLE PASSAGE:
“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.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

MEDITATION:
Does life ever get complicated and a little confusing for you?
Each day is filled with decisions – some are ‘minor’ and some
are ‘major’. Some decisions could have a lasting impact on
your life and so, of course you want to make sure you choose
wisely.

You may consult with other family members or friends for their
opinions. However, when some favor one choice and others favor
another one, you are still unsure of which choice to make. There
are also times when you have a ‘feeling’ that you should make one
choice, but your friends and family are encouraging you to make
a different one.

All of your friends and family have the best intentions, but quite
often their advice is based on how they think the choices would
impact their own lives. You may ask yourself,
    “Why did I even ask for the advice of others?”

Thankfully, the scriptures provide us with the advice we need!
Even though they may not agree with our process for making
decisions, it is the best advice whenever life gives us some
difficult choices.

We may have a sense of urgency to make a choice, but God’s Word
tells us that we are missing something very important in our decision
making process. We are told that when we rely on our own understanding,
we may continue down a crooked path of confusion. Replacing urgency
with patience is not easy, but it is important.

Whenever we rely on our own understanding,
we can end up with more questions than answers.
    “Did I make the right choice?”
    “How will this decision impact me, and others?”
    “How can I recover if this was a bad decision?”
    “Will this decision result in a loss of friendships with others?”
These are just a few of the questions that might arise
(there are probably many more you can think of).

We are told in Proverbs to ‘trust in the Lord with all our hearts’.
Sounds like we give the entire decision process to the Lord, doesn’t
it? But, how do we know if we are trusting Him completely?
According to scripture, we know when we ‘get out of the way’
and listen to Him.

In other words, when we pray and we feel that God has given us
an answer, we don’t start trying to analyze His advice based on
our limited knowledge and understanding. Sounds like a scary
option, doesn’t it?

How do we know if it is really God’s answer to our prayer? My
only reply to that questions is, “You know when you know”.
Throughout my life, whenever I have asked Him to guide me
in making a decision, there has been little doubt for me
whenever He answered my prayers.

Sometimes His answer ‘felt’ delightful and I was ‘all in’ for
the decision He gave me. However, there were times when it
was scary and His decision was not what I hoped for, or expected.
Some of these decisions were life-changing, such as:
    “Should I change jobs?”
    “Should we move to a house in a different area?”
    “As a caregiver, what choices should we make for an aging parent?”
    “What should we do whenever we see a child making bad choices?”
    “When should I intervene if I think a friend
      or family member is going in the wrong direction?”
    “How do I respond to someone who is asking for my advice?”

Our Heavenly Father says to trust Him with our lives and all that
concerns us. Why? Because He loves us completely and wants to
lead us down the straight and correct path of life. He is the perfect
consultant because He can see the entire path of our life, but we can
only see a brief snapshot of the recent past and the near future…not
the long-term effects. God can shield us from the dangers of bad
decisions, and deliver us whenever troubling decisions arise.

He sent His Son to give us an abundant life both now and eternally.
The abundant life means enjoying all the good things He has given
us, including trusting His decisions. All that God asks of us is that
we trust Him completely. We are not to get in His way and we should
not treat His guidance in an ‘a la carte’ manner, where we choose
which answers we will accept and which ones we will refuse.

ACTION:
Are you struggling with some decision(s) right now? How are you
handling them? Are you following the instructions from God’s
Word, or are you relying on your own understanding? When is
the last time you have fully trusted the Lord? What were the
results when you did?

Spend some quiet time alone and reflect back on how God has
helped you with decisions in the past. Think about the times He
has been with you during physical and emotional situations in
your life. There may have been times when you weren’t sure if
He was with you at the time, but looking back you know that He
was with you, because that’s the only reason you were able to cope
with them. Let those memories remind you of how you need to
trust Him now.

I had a friend whom the Lord called home a few years ago. He was
a rugged man with some interesting advice. For instance, if someone
told him their left knee was hurting, he would ask,
    “How does your right knee feel?”
If they said it felt okay, then he would say,
    “Think about your right knee”.

I believe his advice is applicable here. Whenever you have a troubling
decision to make, don’t think about the bad decisions you have made
using your own understanding; think about the times you trusted God
and how He helped you to make good decisions.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for being there for me.
Whenever I struggle with making the right decisions,
help me to trust You completely. Give me the courage
to follow Your advice even if I struggle with understanding
it, and even if it takes me out of my comfort zone. I want to
trust You because I know that You can see which decision
is best for me. Thank You for Your love and concern for me.”

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