Making Decisions . . .

For me, I have always been a go with the flow, I am down for whatever, or satisfied with whatever and wherever other people want to go kind of person. Recently, I have been confronted with a few choices needing to be made where being that 'down for whatever' kind of person, isn't going to work.

I have been praying a lot lately that God would help lead me in the right direction. Just a few of these choices consist of what future Job I will take, where will I live come December, and even dealing with a few family issues that I would rather just avoid.

Writing things out has always been the best way for me to study so today while I was on my lunch break at work, I decided to write out a list of decisions needing to be made. It was during that time today that God gave me a peace and a direction on what I needed to do.

When making decisions I think there are a few things we should consider. For starters, our first priority in life must always be to develop an increasingly intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. In our society, we are concerned with accomplishments; what we do, how we perform, what we produce, how busy we are, etc. We may judge the fruitfulness of a pastor's ministry, for example, by the size of his or her church, the number of books written, tapes produced, the presence of a television ministry, etc. Yet Jesus said that all of this doesn't matter unless the person is intimately connected to Him: "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned" (John 15:5-6).

Remember that Christ calls us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Mt. 6:33) not to seek what we can do for the kingdom of God. Being rooted in Christ is a fundamental "prerequisite" to finding God's will for us. I will not be ready or able to find the career path He has designed for me unless I am seeking Him first. He calls us to love Him with all of our hearts, mind, soul and strength--and to love others as we love ourselves. The more passionately we are pursuing these callings, the better equipped we will be to hear His voice and to be the person we will need to be in order to do the things God has created us to do.

Being a Christian does not exempt us from the responsibility to become wise decision makers. Therefore, it is our responsibility to use our God-given minds to learn how to make good choices. If you wanted to buy a computer, most likely you wouldn't pray about it and then just walk into a computer super-store and see which computer you felt "led" to buy. Most people would agree that to do so would be foolish. Instead, most people would agree that it's best to research information about the different computers on the market, identify their specific needs, investigate prices at different stores for the computers of most interest, and then make a purchase. Certainly prayer should be a part of the process, but God expects us to do our part in making wise decisions, as well.

Learning how to make decisions is a part of developing wisdom and maturity, both of which God desires for us. The book of Proverbs is full of admonitions about the importance of gaining wisdom to live a life that is pleasing to God. The proverbs are given to us "for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life..." (Prov. 1:1-3). God desires for us to have not only spiritual maturity and wisdom but also wisdom that relates to making decisions in this life.

Living out God's will for your career, life, and your hearts desires will require that you take risks. One thing we must understand is that God doesn't call us to risk-free living, because we wouldn't need to develop our "faith muscles." The typical way God works is to impress upon our hearts and minds a need, a cause, an issue or an interest that we develop a desire to do something about, and then to lead us one step at a time. Jesus' call to His disciples was for them to follow Him, and become fishers of men. They had no idea what was in store for them. When Jesus called the Saul (Paul), He did not reveal to him all that his ministry would entail or require from him.

Learning to take risks is an essential part of following God and living out His will for our lives. Without risks, a person's life becomes a process of digging an ever-deeper rut in which he or she stagnates and cuts himself or herself off from all that God intends life to be. As Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." We know that, as God's sons and daughters, we have already won in this life. God calls us to live courageously, to take risks in order to use our gifts and bring light to this hurting world. We must remember we have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.