Christian Living
MAKIN’ DECISIONS
How good are you at making decisions? I’m not talking about the decisions you have to make about what clothes you are going to wear or what you are going to eat for your next meal. I’m talking about the major decisions you have to make in the course of your life such as:
Who should I marry?
Should we have children? If so, how many?
Should we buy a house?
Where should we go to church?
Should I take this job?
Should we put my parent in a nursing home?
These are some of the most difficult decisions we will have to make. Decision making is not fun. When we are children, we have no clue about making major decisions because our parents made them for us. If we weren’t happy with them, we had someone to blame. But now it is all on us. I am the first to admit to you that my own decision-making abilities aren’t too good. I tend to waver between the choices and then I worry about making the wrong decision or about being in God’s will. I have had to agonize over decisions many times. Even with the difficulty in making decisions, the one thing we can be assured of is that we serve a God who has a plan for our lives. (Jeremiah 29:11) Nothing that we do surprises Him. This should give us some peace in knowing that He is ultimately in control and more than capable of shaping our lives regardless of the poor decisions we might make in our lives. Even if we make the wrong decision, He can still work it out for our good. (Romans 8:28)
BIBLICAL DECISION-MAKING METHODS
There are many examples of answers that God gave to people in the Bible. I found three interesting decision-making methods that were used:
Gideon’s Fleece
“Putting out a fleece before the Lord” is a common idea that Christians use in determining God’s will for making decisions. It comes from the passage in Judges 6:36-40 where Gideon was asked to assemble an army to fight the Midianites and Amalekites. Gideon was doubtful whether God would really use him to deliver Israel, so he set out a sheep’s fleece on the ground. Gideon asked God that if dew was on the fleece and the ground was dry then this would confirm God’s plan. The next morning Gideon found the fleece was wet but the ground was dry. You might think that would be enough but Gideon had to put that fleece out one more time just to be absolutely sure but this time he reversed the request. Again the next morning, Gideon found the answer of confirmation for God’s plan.
Many people have criticized Gideon for his lack of faith. This may be true but you can’t help but wonder if he was really being overly cautious in making sure that God was in this plan and not just his own zeal. I think we have all found ourselves in that same situation. We might feel that God is leading in a specific direction but we fear that we are within ourselves and getting outside of God’s intended will for us. So, we put out our own “fleece” before the Lord just like Gideon did.
Although the fleece worked for Gideon, I wouldn’t recommend “putting out a fleece before the Lord” because, it doesn’t always work. To be perfectly honest with you, it has rarely – if ever -- worked for me. I don’t question that God can use this method but we can’t expect to force God into a certain method of response. If He doesn’t want to answer, He won’t do it no matter how many “fleeces” we throw out.
Camels get water, Isaac gets a wife
Are you looking for a wife or husband? What if he or she walked up and put gas in your friend’s car at the gas station? Does this sound bizarre? This is exactly how Isaac got his wife. (Genesis 24)
Abraham asked one of his servants, Eliezer, to find a wife for Isaac. Eliezer was afraid of failure so he prayed that God would provide the woman. Specifically, he prayed while he was at the well that if a woman offered him a drink of water AND she also volunteered to water his camels that she would be the one. I like how quickly God worked in this situation. Before Eliezer finished his prayer, Rebekah did just as Eliezer had prayed.
In this method of making a decision, Isaac found a wife based upon a divine circumstance. Circumstantial decision-making is perhaps the most common method that most Christians use in finding God’s direction. Again, this method may work many times but it doesn’t always work. We know that God orders the steps of the righteous (Psalms 37:23) and we try to use these as signs for what God wants us to do.
Casting Lots
Have you ever consulted a magic 8-ball for decisions? No doubt we have all had fun asking questions to see what pops up on the triangular dice floating inside the 8-ball. Would you believe that there are instances in the Bible where decisions were made similar to rolling dice?
This method was called “casting lots”. Lots were objects of unknown shape and material used to determine the divine will of God. Difficult and significant decisions made by casting lots on the ground or drawing them from a receptacle. There is no reference in the Bible that tells us what they looked like or how they were interpreted but we know that they were used. (Proverbs 16:33) The best example was when Matthias was chosen to be Judas’ successor. (Acts 1:26). Other references to casting lots to make decisions are found when Saul was chosen as Israel’s first king (1 Samuel 10:20-24) and when Saul called for the casting of lots to determine who sinned during his battle with the Philistines. Proverbs states that the use of lots is one way to put an end to a dispute when decisions are difficult. (Proverbs 18:18)
Before you go out and flip a coin to make your decision, consider the fact that the practice of casting lots seemed to have disappeared when the Holy Ghost came. Instead of consulting a game of chance to make a decision, it is best to follow the direction of the Holy Ghost since that is one of His primary functions for the believer. (John 16:13)
WHY ARE DECISIONS SO DIFFICULT?
The responsibility of making decisions isn’t easy. The reason that decisions are such a burden upon us can be traced back to the Garden of Eden and the curse upon mankind. Instead of picking the fruit off of the Tree of Life, Adam and Eve picked the Tree of Knowledge. (Genesis 3:1-7) When their eyes were “opened” it also opened them for all of mankind from that point. Decisions are difficult because we compete with three voices in making them – The voice of God, the voice of Satan and our own voice. It gets really difficult to weed out the voice of God and His will for us many times. We simply don’t spend enough time alone with God and with His Word to get the right decision the first time.
I can’t tell you how many times I have needed a critical answer, the time ran out and I had no word from God about it. No word, no burning bush, nothing but silence. To be honest with you, I don’t understand this. When you are desperate for an answer and there is no direct word from the Bible, how do you make those difficult decisions?
HOW TO MAKE A DECISION
#1 – Seek divine direction
Go ahead and put out that fleece, ask for a dream, seek God’s word for the answer but most important of all – PRAY ABOUT IT. You can’t go wrong in praying about your need. You must let God know that you are desperate for His divine direction. Matthew 7:7 tells us to keep on asking, seeking and knocking. When you ask, you are making your request known to God. When you seek, you are actively gaining information on how to find your answer.
#2 – When God is silent, use wisdom
God says that if we need wisdom that we should ask for it. (James 1:5) This should make it clear to us that if God isn’t going to answer us, we can be assured that we have the wisdom to make the decision. In order to trust in this wisdom, you must be walking in the Spirit before you can expect Him to lead you. When your motives are pure and centered on God, you can use wisdom by considering the pros and cons of the decision you have to make and making the choice without wavering.
#3 – Remember that God is always in control
Regardless of how much thought or wisdom that goes into our decision, we can’t possibly know everything that will be affected. Trusting in God’s sovereignty will keep us from despair when our decisions lead us into trouble or even when we make the wrong decision. Regardless of how inadequate we feel that our decision-making is, God is still in control and we are still His child. (Proverbs 16:9)
God guides us moment by moment. A pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night is how God guided and protected the Israelites. What we can learn from the way God led Israel is that when we are committed to following and obeying God, we are where God wants us. Whether we are moving or staying in one place, God knows exactly where we are. Direction from God is not just for the next big move but He has a purpose in placing us where we are right now.
As you go about your daily life, God is working in your life in ways you may not even notice. As a believer, you must not close the door on what God can do. Events do not happen by luck or coincidence. We should always have faith that God is directing our life for His purpose.
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