PSALM 32 – GOD’S GUIDELINES FOR DECISION MAKING
In the movie “City Slickers,” Billy Crystal plays a confused, dissatisfied character with a vague sense that life is passing him by. Jack Palance plays the ancient, leathery, wise to the ways of the world cowboy. He asks Billy Crystal if he would like to know the secret of life. “it’s this,” Palance says, holding up a single finger. “The secret of life is your finger?” asks Crystal. “It’s one thing,” Palance replies. “The secret of life is pursuing one thing.” Somehow this resonates deeply with Billy Crystal’s character. He says “That’s great, but what is that one thing?” Palance replies, “That is what you have to figure out.” So many people today are like that. Their lives are torn between competing obligations and divided. When life is about so many things, it is about nothing.
Life is about one thing. What is that one thing for us as Christians? It is God’s will for your life. It has been said, “Success is finding God’s will for your life, and then doing it.”
Today we are continuing in our series looking at the Psalms. The bible is an amazing book. Here are some fun facts. What is the shortest chapter in the bible? It is Psalm 117. What is the longest chapter in the bible? It is psalm 119. What chapter is in the center of the bible? It is psalm 118, the one between the longest and shortest. There are 594 chapters before psalm 118 and 594 chapters after it. If you add those numbers together (594 times 2) you get 1188 or 118-8. So, what is at the heart of the bible? Psalm 118:8 says;
Psalms 118:8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
Trusting in the Lord means trusting in His will for your life. We believe in a God that has a specific will for our lives. Sometimes finding that will can seem difficult.
There are four ways different ways that you can reach an unknown destination. The first way is by trial and error. Sometimes men especially seem to prefer this approach. You go with their gut and try to figure it out on your own. No need to stop for directions, you just keep going hoping you will find it eventually. This method usually leads to many hours wasted on short cuts. That is how some people treat God's will. They assume they already know it and they know where they are going.
A second way that people often try to find an unknown destination is to use a map. You study it at the beginning of the journey and then look at it occasionally along the way to make sure you are still on track. The problem with this approach is that God's will is not a map. In my own life I have found that God rarely reveals His will long term. He likes to reveal it a little bit at a time, step by step, so you have to learn to depend on Him. God's will is not a map.
The third way that people try to find a destination by using a compass. If you know that your destination is ten degrees North by Northwest then you just keep heading in that direction until you find what you are looking for. The problem with using a compass is that you have to know exactly where you are starting from. For most people seeking God’s will, they don't know that. We do not know where we are, much less where we are going.
The fourth way you find an unknown destination is the best way. It is the most effective way. That is to have a personal guide, to have somebody who walks with you all the way until you reach the destination. They know where you are every step, they understand the environment, the climate, the dangers. They know where you are and they know where you are going. This is how God guides us. The Bible says that God gives us the Holy Spirit to be our guide. God walks with us.
So how does the Holy Spirit guide us? We have talked about this before. There are times when this can be supernaturally. God will guide us through a vision or a dream. However, most of the time the Holy Spirit guides in quite normal ways.
Today I want us to look at God’s guidelines for decision making, because the decisions we make in life determine the direction of our life. God wants us to know His will and follow it, but it is up to us to seek it with all our hearts.
Psalms 32:1-11 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. 9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. 10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. 11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!
How does God guide us in the decisions we make? There are 5 steps;
1. Steady Yourself – calm your heart and mind (1-5)
The first step in finding God’s will for your life is hearing God’s voice. In order to do that, you have to calm your heart and mind enough to be able to hear God speaking to you. Have you ever been in a crowd of people and there is so much noise that you cannot hear what the person sitting right next to you is trying to say? Life can be like that. There can be so much noise from the situations in life we find ourselves in that we cannot hear God speaking to us.
The key here is to RELAX. Don’t be uptight and anxious about it. Do not worry that somehow you might have missed it or that it is too late. Some people think that God’s will is like walking a tightrope, if you make one mistake or one wrong step then it is over, you are done. Relax.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Once you have done that you need to ask yourself if there is anything in your life that may be hindering you from hearing what God wants to say to you. In this psalm, David recounts the time that, because of his sin with Bathsheba, that he was not hearing from God very well. Sin distances us from God. It makes us move away from Him.
Psalm 32:3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
That is what unconfessed sin does. It eats away at us. It is like a disease, killing us slowly within. It drives a wedge between us and God. If you want to hear from God you have to be willing to confess your sins so that you are in a position to hear from Him.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Years ago, I was having a hard time hearing out of one ear. I had to remove the wax that was plugging up my ear. Like confession, remove the blockage and then your hearing improves. Steady yourself.
2. Seek Wisdom – let everyone who is godly pray (6-7)
Step number one is steadying yourself so that you are in a position to hear from God. The second step to finding God’s will in your life is asking Him to reveal it to you. Once you have placed yourself in a position where you are ready to hear from God, you need to be attentive to what He will say to you. That means spending significant time with God in prayer.
God has not bowed to our nervous haste nor embraced the methods of our machine age. The man who would know God must give time to Him -- A.W. Tozer
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Ask God to guide you and then listen for what He says. Too many times we go to God is prayer and say something like “God, I want to know your will for my life. Reveal it to me. Amen.” Then you open your eyes and you are off to the next appointment. That does not work because you have run off before God was able to give you the answer.
A woman telephoned the manager of a large opera house and told him she had lost a valuable diamond pin the night before at the concert. The man asked her to hold the line. A search was made and the pin was found. When he got back to the phone, the woman had hung up. He waited for her to call again, and even put a notice in the paper, but he heard nothing further. Isn't this the way some of us pray? We tell the Lord all about our needs, but then fail to "hold the line." As a result, we miss the joy of answered prayer and the thrill and reward of a persistent faith.
This is the value of fasting while you pray. It helps focus you and reminds you of the seriousness of the issue you are praying for. Go to God in prayer and then wait…
G. Campbell Morgan said “Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given.” Steady yourself and seek wisdom through prayer.
3. Study the Bible – I will instruct you and teach you (8)
One of the primary ways that God guides us is through His word. God will never tell you in private to do anything that contradicts what He has already said to you in public. God's will never contradicts God’s Word. Study the scripture. Any major decision in your life is an excellent reason to do a Bible study. If you want to get married then first study what the bible says about marriage. Take a course, read a book, study what it means biblically. Are you looking for a job? Study what the bible has to say about work. I do not mean that you try to find some proof text to justify what you want to do, you study what God has to say about the issue before you make a decision.
Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
Like the guy who opened his Bible, praying, "God, what is Your will for me today?" He put his finger down on "Judas went out and killed himself." That couldn't be right, he thought and tried a second time, "Go thou and do likewise." That couldn't be right! A third time: "What thou doest, do quickly."
Let me just say that, along with studying the bible, I have found it helpful to spend time with people who really know the bible, people who are mature in their faith. Seek their counsel.
Proverbs 19:20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.
Listen to people who know you well and who know God well. People who can give you a realistic evaluation of your own abilities. Especially listen to the advice of people who are neutral, people who have nothing to gain or loose by your decision. That's the kind of person you ought to ask.
This even happens with me. People come and say, "Pastor, I'm really praying whether I ought to move out of the area or not." They expect me to be neutral on that? I'm going to lose a member? They've got to be kidding! I can tell them I'll pray for them -- but I'll pray against it! I don't want you leaving. It's hard for me to be neutral about something like that. You ask somebody who's neither going to profit or lose by your decision.
Along with unbiased people, it is wise to get advice from people who have been where you want to go. Talk to somebody who has already been there and see if it's all what it's cracked up to be. Listen to God’s people and listen to God’s word.
Jimmy Houston is a professional fisherman, he makes a living fishing tournaments. He is also a devout Christian. Years ago, there was a tournament that said to be eligible for the fisherman of the year award ($100,000), you had to wear the patch and decal of a prominent sponsor - Busch Beer. Jimmy Houston refused to wear it, thereby forfeiting his chance at the $100,000. A fellow Christian fisherman asked him, "Jimmy, have you prayed about that?" Jimmy replied, "I don’t have to pray about it. There is no decision for me to make. God has already made the decision in His Word when He said not to do anything that would damage our testimony as Christians." He didn’t use these words, but Jimmy was saying to this fisherman, "This is not a part of God’s specific will, it’s a part of God’s general will. God’s Word clearly tells me what God’s will would be in this matter."
Once we understand that the majority of God’s will is revealed in the Word, and that the small part that is His specific will can only be discerned using principles taught in the Word, we can make a statement about knowing God’s will. The knowledge of God’s will and the knowledge of God’s Word are, for all practical purposes, one and the same! You cannot know God’s will without knowing His Word, and you cannot know God’s Word without discovering His will! Steady yourself, seek wisdom and study the Word.
4. Step out in Faith – controlled by bit and bridle (9)
The fourth step requires action. Once we have heard from God and had those words confirmed through scripture and others, we need to step out in faith in the direction that God has told us to go. You have to move ahead. You need to go for it. Even if you do not have all the answers, even when you are not 100% certain, you have to step out in faith and make the move.
You can have the most expensive GPS money can buy. It can be reading multiple satellites that are orbiting the earth. You can have the best and most updated maps available on the market. None of it is worth anything until you leave your driveway. Until you get in the car and turn on the engine and get the car moving, all the information in the world means nothing. You cannot direct a parked car. You cannot turn a ship that is not moving.
Psalm 32:9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.
That is true in life as well. God cannot direct a person who is not moving. Too often we sit around asking God to direct us thinking “I am not moving until I know where God wants me to go.” Meanwhile God is saying to us “Get off your blessed assurance…” Get started. Do something. Guidance comes to those who move in faith, not sit in doubt.
Maybe you are thinking, “what if I make a mistake?” It is OK to make mistakes. It is how we learn. God would rather you make a mistake in faith then sit in doubt. I have made so many mistakes in my life. I have run ahead of God when I should have waited. I have gotten distracted and been sidetracked. Then God came and helped make a course correction to get back on track.
Acts 16 shows a principle that so many Christians miss. They are just sitting around waiting for one hundred percent confirmation before they will move. In Acts 16 we see Paul's method or approach to finding God's will.
Acts 16:6-10 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
This is really kind of humorous. Paul picks up Timothy in Lystra and is wanting to go West and go to Ephesus, but God blocks his way so he goes North. Then he wants to turn East into Bithynia but God says not so he goes West and winds up in Troas. Then God says, "I want you to go to Greece." Here's this great Christian leader ricocheting off closed doors like a pinball machine. Do you know what Paul's method of knowing what God's will was? Keep moving ahead and ask God to close the doors if you're going in the wrong way. That's how he worked. One closed door after another until the one for Greece opened – so let's go that way.
So, what do you do? You make a step out in faith. Do not let the fear of making a mistake keep you from moving ahead in faith. One of two things will happen. Either God will close the door or God will open the door. Even if it's the wrong decision, God is bigger than any decision you'll ever made. If you're making it in faith, He will even use that in your life for His glory and your growth.
Maybe you are thinking, "How can I be sure when it's God's will?" You can't! It's that simple. In most areas of life, you will never be absolutely, one hundred percent sure. If it was, you would not be living by faith, you would be living by sight. And the Bible says we walk by faith and not by sight.
Steady yourself, seek wisdom, study the Word and then step out in faith.
5. Sing His praise – be glad, you righteous (10-11)
As you move forward in faith, God will give you confirmations that you are going the right way. It is like you are driving on some back road and you come to an intersection and you are not sure what way to go. You make the choice to turn left and then, a few minutes later, you see a sign confirming that you are going the right way. You breath a sign of relief.
God does this in our lives. We step out in faith believing that it is where God is calling us to go and some time later God uses a situation to confirm that it was the right decision. Use that as a time to celebrate. You need to celebrate these confirmations when they happen. In this psalm David says;
Psalm 32:11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Why is this step so important? Why is it included in this list? Because it builds faith. Every time we step out and faith and God confirms it then it builds our faith and makes it easier for us to step out again in faith the next time. It builds our faith muscles.
Missionary statesman Hudson Taylor had complete trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote: “Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning... He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all... Depend on it, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”
