It is 4:11 a.m. I have tossed and turned throughout the night waking up in attitude of prayer off and on. I am facing several big choices and have been pleading with God in prayer for guidance and direction. It is difficult to know exactly what He wants me to do. There are no easy formulas to determine the right decisions. There is no clearly marked out path. There are not easy buttons.
There is a time line for one of the choices to be made by today. I have to make my decision before lunch today. I have mulled this choice over and over in my mind and come up with dozens of different scenarios. I have read and studied the scriptures for these choices. I have prayed for hours on end [Matt 7:7-8]. I have sought the counsel of trusted friends [Prov 11:14] and family members and after all of that I have no clear cut answers. There are four different choices to be made in the one choice before lunch. Three are clearly defined and distinct and the final choice is to say “no” to all three choices.
I know all too well from reading about the lives of others and from personal experience that making a wrong choice that does not honor the Lord can have disastrous consequences. It might not be hard for others, but over the past six months, being able to hear clearly from the Lord has been extremely difficult for me. The more I have sought to know His will in several matters the more confused I have felt. There have been no special revelations to help in these choices. There has been a lot of praying and reading the Bible but more than anything there has been waiting.
By nature I am pretty impulsive. This has gotten me into a lot of hot water over the years so as I have aged I have tried to learn to wait on the Lord before making choices that impact my family and others. I am not as quick to jump as I used to be. I am often slower to speak. My decision making is more deliberate as I seek the mind and heart of God before coming to any conclusions but here in lays the problem. In seeking the mind and heart of God I do not always know what He wants or what He is saying. Try as I might, I often cannot say with one hundred percent confidence that the Lord wants me to choose this or that.
Making moral choices is easier. There are principles in the scriptures that are clearly laid out. Do not steal. [Ex 20:15] Do not lie. [Ex 20:16] Do not murder. [Ex 20:13] Do not commit adultery. [Ex 20:14]. There are also other things we clearly know God wants His church to do. We are to take the message of Jesus Christ to every nation in the world. [Matt 28:19-20] I know from these verses that I am to continue to go on mission trips.
Other choices are not so clearly laid out. Whom do you marry? What vocation do you pursue? What house and car do you buy? What community do you live in? These choices are not clearly outlined in the scriptures. There are no verses that say buy this one and not that one. At this point we need wisdom [James 1:5] and discernment. We need guidance from the Lord. Life is filled with hundreds of choices that I need God’s help in making. I know some of you are in the same boat.
Here is my counsel. Do not get in a hurry. Wait on the Lord. [Ps 27:14] Two times in that verse we are counseled to wait on the Lord. We are told to wait on the Lord in [Is 40:30-31]. Haste makes waste as the old adage goes. Even when God appears to be silent we would be wise to keep waiting on Him. Patience is a virtue. In this fast paced world where we are often pushed to make quick decisions we need to be reminded to slow down and wait on God’s counsel. If more people had done that over the past few years we would not be facing the economic crisis we are facing. People would not have gone in debt over their heads making purchases they could not really afford.
Fill your mind with scriptures. [Ps 119:147-148]. Rise before the dawn to seek truth from the God of the Bible. Wait for His words to be imparted to your heart. Over the years when I have needed direction God has used His Word to speak to my heart many times. At times those revelations have been stunning. At other times they have come in a collection of themes that seem to resurface over and over again. Sometimes I have been able to take the general principles of scripture to make my best decision. The Bible is a road map for life. It is a life survival guide and the play book for making decisions.
Lastly, and I would caution on this one, I look at circumstances. Some people refer to God opening and shutting a door. I do not put as much stock in this as I do in reading the Bible but I know God has used circumstances in my life to reveal His will. It was through the circumstances of being offered a football scholarship that I went to Howard Payne University where I met my wife Brenda and my close friend Eric as our souls were knit together in Brownwood, TX. It was through Eric that I was connected with a youth ministry position in Weatherford, TX right after Brenda and I got married and it was through Eric again that I was brought to Paradise. God can use circumstances and people to reveal His will.
I have some major choices to make and one of them in less than six hours. I am off to do what I have been doing over and over again. I will keep sitting before the Lord with an open Bible and asking Him to show me what choice to make that would most honor Him. I know He will not fail me in this time of indecision.
There is a time line for one of the choices to be made by today. I have to make my decision before lunch today. I have mulled this choice over and over in my mind and come up with dozens of different scenarios. I have read and studied the scriptures for these choices. I have prayed for hours on end [Matt 7:7-8]. I have sought the counsel of trusted friends [Prov 11:14] and family members and after all of that I have no clear cut answers. There are four different choices to be made in the one choice before lunch. Three are clearly defined and distinct and the final choice is to say “no” to all three choices.
I know all too well from reading about the lives of others and from personal experience that making a wrong choice that does not honor the Lord can have disastrous consequences. It might not be hard for others, but over the past six months, being able to hear clearly from the Lord has been extremely difficult for me. The more I have sought to know His will in several matters the more confused I have felt. There have been no special revelations to help in these choices. There has been a lot of praying and reading the Bible but more than anything there has been waiting.
By nature I am pretty impulsive. This has gotten me into a lot of hot water over the years so as I have aged I have tried to learn to wait on the Lord before making choices that impact my family and others. I am not as quick to jump as I used to be. I am often slower to speak. My decision making is more deliberate as I seek the mind and heart of God before coming to any conclusions but here in lays the problem. In seeking the mind and heart of God I do not always know what He wants or what He is saying. Try as I might, I often cannot say with one hundred percent confidence that the Lord wants me to choose this or that.
Making moral choices is easier. There are principles in the scriptures that are clearly laid out. Do not steal. [Ex 20:15] Do not lie. [Ex 20:16] Do not murder. [Ex 20:13] Do not commit adultery. [Ex 20:14]. There are also other things we clearly know God wants His church to do. We are to take the message of Jesus Christ to every nation in the world. [Matt 28:19-20] I know from these verses that I am to continue to go on mission trips.
Other choices are not so clearly laid out. Whom do you marry? What vocation do you pursue? What house and car do you buy? What community do you live in? These choices are not clearly outlined in the scriptures. There are no verses that say buy this one and not that one. At this point we need wisdom [James 1:5] and discernment. We need guidance from the Lord. Life is filled with hundreds of choices that I need God’s help in making. I know some of you are in the same boat.
Here is my counsel. Do not get in a hurry. Wait on the Lord. [Ps 27:14] Two times in that verse we are counseled to wait on the Lord. We are told to wait on the Lord in [Is 40:30-31]. Haste makes waste as the old adage goes. Even when God appears to be silent we would be wise to keep waiting on Him. Patience is a virtue. In this fast paced world where we are often pushed to make quick decisions we need to be reminded to slow down and wait on God’s counsel. If more people had done that over the past few years we would not be facing the economic crisis we are facing. People would not have gone in debt over their heads making purchases they could not really afford.
Fill your mind with scriptures. [Ps 119:147-148]. Rise before the dawn to seek truth from the God of the Bible. Wait for His words to be imparted to your heart. Over the years when I have needed direction God has used His Word to speak to my heart many times. At times those revelations have been stunning. At other times they have come in a collection of themes that seem to resurface over and over again. Sometimes I have been able to take the general principles of scripture to make my best decision. The Bible is a road map for life. It is a life survival guide and the play book for making decisions.
Lastly, and I would caution on this one, I look at circumstances. Some people refer to God opening and shutting a door. I do not put as much stock in this as I do in reading the Bible but I know God has used circumstances in my life to reveal His will. It was through the circumstances of being offered a football scholarship that I went to Howard Payne University where I met my wife Brenda and my close friend Eric as our souls were knit together in Brownwood, TX. It was through Eric that I was connected with a youth ministry position in Weatherford, TX right after Brenda and I got married and it was through Eric again that I was brought to Paradise. God can use circumstances and people to reveal His will.
I have some major choices to make and one of them in less than six hours. I am off to do what I have been doing over and over again. I will keep sitting before the Lord with an open Bible and asking Him to show me what choice to make that would most honor Him. I know He will not fail me in this time of indecision.
No comments:
Post a Comment