Question of the Month-April 2008

Our question this month comes from someone who asks, “I am currently facing a big decision in my life and I don’t have any clear leading from the Lord on what to do. Does the Bible give us any clear counsel about making decisions in our lives”?

It is great to know that the Lord hasn’t left us alone as we face the important decisions of life. The Lord has given us His Word and the Holy Spirit to help us interpret it. Without the Word, and the Spirit to help us, we would truly be uncertain about any decision, no matter how big or small.

There is only one Person Who always made the right decisions in life and that was our Lord Jesus. Our Lord perfectly followed the leading of His Father on every decision that He made. Every action our Lord took was led by the Spirit. Our Lord had no desire to go off and do “His own thing”. Our Lord delighted in doing His Father’s will. Our Lord told the disciples in John 6:39, “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me”. Our Lord was freed from worry or fear about life’s decisions because He had committed all of it to His Father.

Hence, as we look at this important issue, the first question all of us should ask is whether we really want the Lord’s will for the decision, or do we just want the Lord to bless our decision? That is a tough question and not always easy to discern. If we are really open to whatever the Lord wants for us, it really helps with the decision making process. Such an attitude frees us from the pressure of the results. No longer is it “all up to me” but the decision starts to become “all up to the Lord”.

Now with regards to specific steps on a decision, there are a few tried and true principles that can be used here to help. We start by going to the Lord, wanting His will and asking for wisdom as James 1:5 tells us. As we believe the Lord will answer our request for wisdom, we can begin to seek His wisdom through the voice of other wise and godly people. In many ways, this is the number one principle that I see in Scripture, namely seeking wise counsel. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 15:22 that “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed”. This is the main way the Lord protects and advises us about decisions. Make sure you surround yourself with two or three godly people and listen to the wisdom the Lord gives you through them. Specifically, look for patterns where the wise counsel lines up and establishes itself before you move forward. If you don’t have any clear leading from your advisors, continue to seek counselor and/or wait until you do.

A second major principle in seeking the Lord’s direction is to look to the fruit of the Spirit when you consider any option. If doing “A” or “B” doesn’t give you peace, joy, patience from Galatians 5:22, it would be hard to believe that the Holy Spirit is leading you forward. The principle here is that decisions led by the Spirit will have the Spirit’s fruit in our hearts and lives. I am amazed how many times people will make big decisions when they are not at peace about them. I have done this myself many times and suffered the results.

Another principle I would use in making a major decision is to remember – never be in a hurry. This is one of the major mistakes I see many people make in life. The Lord is never in a hurry for something in your life. If the Lord is leading you toward something big in your life, you can be sure you won’t have to “rush around” to get it done. From my experience only the devil is in a hurry. If the Lord has something for you, you can’t lose it by not quickly grabbing it. Take your time and commit the issue to prayer. If the boss offers to double your salary for a job, but won’t give you some time to pray and think about it, you have your answer from the Lord.

Finally, rejoice in the fact that the Lord loves you and won’t let you do something that will stop His purposes for your life. The Lord can and will restore you from any decision, no matter how bad. As a result, we can have confidence that our decision is ultimately in His Hands and not ours. The Lord is truly sovereign in all our plans and that truth should help us when facing the most difficult decisions. I hope this brief answer has helped you get started.

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