Decisions – Decisions – Decisions – And How To Make Them
I heard a story this week of a young lady who had been invited to the senior prom. Well of course – a young lady needs a new dress for the prom and it just happened that the young lady’s grandmother was a great seamstress. They went to the fabric store together and picked out the material – but when it became time to pick out a pattern – the young lady could not decide whether the dress should be sleeveless or with sleeves. So a pattern was purchased that could be altered later when the young lady decided what she wanted.
Well time went on and the grandmother asked her granddaughter, “Do you want a sleeveless dress or do you what one with sleeves.” Unable to decide the granddaughter could not give an answer.
Time passed and the prom was getting closer – but still the young lady could not decide. Finally the grandmother said, “Come back in about five days and your dress will be ready.” When the granddaughter arrived she found a dress that had one long sleeve and the other side sleeveless. In this case it turned out very well for the dress was very attractive and the young lady looked very beautiful in it. But indecision sometimes does not leave us with good results – does it?
Decisions – Decisions – Decisions – we are faced with them every day. Some of them are big and some of them are small – but they still must be made. Have you ever struggled with making decisions? “What should I fix for dinner?” “What should I wear today?” “Where should I invest my money?” “Who should I date?” “Where should I go on vacation?” “What career should I pursue?” Some decisions are BIG – but others are small – yet they all can be important.
It is amazing to me – how many sources the average person will consult when faced with making a decision. They search through their horoscopes or consult trusted friends. Some people will even ask complete strangers for their advice or will follow the accepted patterns of their culture. But let’s look at what the Bible says. Follow along with me as I read from Proverbs:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASV)
Do these verses address the issue of decision making? I believe so. You see God wants us to make wise decisions. He wants us to follow His guidance. In fact one of the main reasons that the Bible was written was that His children would have words to live by. He wants to give us clear direction.
I heard the story of the woman driving through the mountains west of Denver when she ran into a snowstorm. She was completely lost and then peered ahead and saw a four-wheel drive pickup with a blade on the front of it. Since she was lost she decided to follow the truck and kept as close to the machine as she could while it removed snow from the road. At times the blowing snow almost cut off her view, but she kept following the truck. The truck would go up the hill get to the top and make a “U-turn” and go back down the hill. She faithfully kept following the truck. After about the third time that the truck went up and down the hill, the truck stopped, and its driver got out and walked over to her car. “Lady, where are you going?” he asked. “I’m on my way to Denver.” she replied. The truck driver replied, “Well, you’ll never get there following me! I’m just plowing my drive-way!”
In order to get to our destinations, we must make sure we’re on the right road. We need to follow the One who longs to give direction to our life. Many times we think that God is playing ‘hide and seek’ with us – when it comes to the discovery of His will for our lives. This is not true. God delights in revealing His purpose and plans to His children, if we’re serious about finding His will for your life - He will reveal it to you. Look at what the book of James tells us:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 (NKJV)
It is God’s desire for us to have wisdom. In fact – God’s desire is for you to be successful in life. He wants you to live life wisely. While we are on this subject let me list some common myths that we need to identify and dispel before we go much further.
Myth #1: God’s will is hard to FIND
Many of us struggle trying to figure out what God wants us to do in specific situations. But much of what He desires for our lives is already revealed in the Bible. Let’s take the Ten Commandments as an example. From the Ten Commandments we know that God does not want us to steal, kill, or lie. We also know that God does not want us to commit adultery. We know from the Ten Commandments that God wants us to worship Him and honor Him with our lives. You see God is concerned about us and He has given us some basic commandments to follow. Psalm one hundred nineteen tells us:
“Thy word is a lamp to my feet, And a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NASV)
God’s Word – His Bible – was written to guide us and direct us. It is our responsibility to study and search the scriptures so that we can find His desires for our lives. If we study God is faithful to reveal His will for our lives.
Myth #2: God wants us to know everything about the FUTURE
God does not tell us everything about the future – if He did – where would faith be? God does not reveal what’s coming next week or next month or next year. In fact we do not even know what tomorrow may hold. But God urges us to live by faith for Him.
Folks, I am not saying that we should not be concerned about the future – in fact we need to be concerned about the future. But we as Christians we need to live today for the One who holds tomorrow in His hands. If you are a Christian – if you have accepted Jesus Christ into your heart and given your life for Him – God has prepared a place for you. It is called Heaven. It will one day be your home for eternity. In the mean time - you are to live by faith – believing that God is preparing you for your eternal home. Paul tells us in second Corinthians:
“Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 (NASV)
One reason that God doesn’t reveal our entire future is because He wants us to trust Him moment by moment as we take one step at a time – but we do know as believers – where those steps will ultimately take us.
Myth #3: God’s greatest goal for my life is my HAPPINESS
There is some truth about this statement. If you follow God – you will eventually find happiness. But let me say this quite clearly.
God is more concerned about your character than He is about your comfort.
As Americans, many of us have bought up with the myth that we deserve to be happy and successful. Some of us believe that God must want us to be happy as well. This is a myth. God is more concerned with our holiness than He is to our happiness. In fact God is committed to our holiness, not our happiness. He is committed to our purity rather than our pleasure. In order for our character to change – sometimes He allows us to go through some pretty tough times. It is tough times that build character. Here is a fact:
God is in the life change business.
He takes that which is broken and fixes it. He takes that which is bent and straightens it out. He takes that which is shattered and puts it back together. That is what God does. God is in the life change business and He is more concerned with your character than He is with your comfort.
Have you ever thought that if you are going to become like Jesus – you may just have to go through some of the stuff He went through? It may be true. Do you remember what Matthew chapter five says? Let me read it for you:
"Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11-12 (NASV)
To tell you the truth – I don’t much like this passage of scripture – but I do like the reward that God offers if I stay faithful to Him. God wants me to be faithful to Him and in the process – I become more like Jesus. My faithfulness may not lead to a comfortable life – but I can guarantee – that it will be a character building life.
Now let us look at our focal verse again:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NASV)
What must I do to make wise decisions?
In these verses God gives us three steps to making decisions. First:
1. Trust in the LORD
To trust in the Lord is to make a commitment to the Lord. It is to rely on God and believe that He is big enough to take care of the situation. The writer of Proverbs goes on to talk about the volume of our trust when he says, “with all your heart.” God does not want half-hearted devotion to Him nor does He want half-hearted trust. He wants our full devotion and our full trust. You have probably heard the story of the chicken and the pig – but if you haven’t let me tell it to you:
A chicken and a pig were walking down the road together when they came to a sign in front of a building that said, “Annual Fundraiser. Ham and egg breakfast.” The chicken said to the pig, “Hey, that’s right up our alley. Why don’t we go in and help out?” To which the pig replied, “That’s easy for you to say. For you that’s just a contribution. For me we’re talking total commitment.”
Are you just making a “contribution” or are you ready to make a total commitment to Christ? When the verse says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart” – it means just that – make a total commitment to trust God.
The second thing these verses tell us to do is:
2. Stop trying to be in CONTROL
This second point is a warning. Look at the second part of verse five:
“do not lean on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5b (NASV)
We have been given a positive admonition in the first part of the verse to, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart” and now we are told, “do not lean on your own understanding.”
Why? Because we have limited understanding. We do not understand everything. We do not see the entire picture. We do not have all the facts.
Let’s admit it – most of us think we can figure things out on our own. We can do just fine by ourselves – thank you. But, if we’re serious about making wise decisions, we must fight against that internal inclination to trust in our own understanding. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use common sense or the wisdom that God gives us, but it does mean that we should not trust on our understanding for total support. If we try to figure out our life and handle every decision that comes our way, we will be in trouble. Proverbs chapter twenty eight and verse twenty six in the Message Bible says;
“If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure; real survivors learn wisdom from others.” Proverbs 28:26 (MSG)
Have you ever made decisions based on misinformation? Or limited information? I have too. Did you know that God does not make decisions with limited information? How could He – He knows everything. Remember that verse from James chapter one that I read earlier – let me read it again:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 (NKJV)
God who knows all things is willing to help us make decisions – “lean not on your own understanding.”
Point three is:
3. Acknowledge God in all our WAYS
God wants you to trust Him – not in your own understanding in all the areas of your life. That is why He says:
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:6 (NASV)
Go ahead and circle the word “all” in verse six. The verse does not say “some” of your ways. The verse does not say “most” of your ways. The verse says “all” of your ways. It means in everything you do. In every detail of your life – acknowledge God. You may think it is insignificant – God doesn’t. You may think you can handle it – you can’t. (Remember: Lean not on your own understanding.) You may think – it is outside of God’s concern – it isn’t. You see God cares about every aspect of your life. He cares about every detail no matter how minute you may think it is. That is why Proverbs chapter three and verse six says, “In all your ways acknowledge Him”. He wants you to invite Him into every detail of your life. He cares about you that much.
Look at the last phrase with me:
“He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:6b (NASV)
This is the promise.
Our responsibility is to trust God, not trust our own understanding but to acknowledge God in all our ways and then He gives us a promise. What is it? “He will make your paths straight.”
When the Interstate highway system began construction in the 1950’s, across the United States, the planners looked for the least hilly areas to construct the roads. When they decided on the route, they then went to work to knock down the smaller hills and fill in the valleys to make the roads as flat as possible. But you know what? Some roads still go over mountains. Some roads still go through valleys. Some roads still follow raging rivers. Some roads follow quiet streams. Some roads go through arid deserts. Some roads go through lush green pastures. You see, even straight roads might not lead to pleasant experiences. Some do - some don’t. So is life. We may have to travel through the valley of the shadow of death – but the promise is – that God will be with us and that he will make our paths straight.
Proverbs is telling us that life is a journey that goes up into the mountains one day and swerves into the swamp the next. Sometimes the road is washed out or filled with perilous potholes. When we decide to give God first place and trust Him totally, He will straighten out our paths and even remove obstacles.
The straight path is not always easy but it does lead away from sin and destruction and points us to deeper fellowship with Christ.
Do you seek wisdom? Do you want to make wise decisions? Then:
Trust in the Lord, stop trying to be in control and let God take control of your life. Acknowledge Him in all you ways – for He will lead you down the straight path.
(I want to thank Brian Bill for the sermon starter idea.)
