Monday, July 30, 2012

On decision making

My dearest, the subject of "signs" and "God speaking" is of much controversy among Christians. A subject that involves emotions and therefore is very personal and can be interpreted in a personal way. That is the danger. Every person can have their own personal experiences, can have a clear sense in them that the Lord is speaking and find a sense of peace before making decisions. The problem here, is that they can "hear" or "confirm" any decision finding isolated verses in the Bible, or hearing a sermon where they say a key word which affirms the issue they are dealing with.

So how do you make decisions? How do you know what the Lord wants? Are there any mistakes I can make that are not according to His Word? What if I do not have peace.. does that mean I should stop? Is that God warning me? or the Devil scaring me? How do you know!!!

That is why we have His Holy Word. To know what to do. Now, many times, we will find decisions that are not clear in the Bible (homeschooling, the job you should take, the carrer you shoud choose, the outfit you should buy, the music you should hear, the girl/boy you should marry, the car you want to buy ...) So how do you decide? YOU PRAY. The Bible commands us to bring all our petitions before Him. It does not commands anywhere in the Bible to wait for a "special peace" before you decide something. It just commands us to pray. Then you decide according to what will be best for your soul, what will glorify the Lord most. And act after you looked wisely at all the cards, when you seek Godly counsel and when you ask the Lord for His guidance. And trust in Him. If the decision was "not the greatest - or wrong", you know the Lord will help you go through it and He will teach you through this. If it was the "right" decision,  you also know He will help you and teach you through this. You know the Lord is sovereign and if you look throughout His Word, you will see people doing the "wrong" thing and yet they did not got away with it. God's will still was fulfilled. Look at Abraham, Jonah, Moses, Esther... ) Look at the apostles and how they chose Matthias! (they prayed, and then they acted knowing that the Lord was Sovereign). And so you should pray, consider where your soul will profit best, and then act. They waited not for a special "peace" about the decision.

The Lord can change your desires or interests, He can change the circumstances so that you choose one over the other. The Lord is Sovereign. The Lord's will cannot be frustrated even if we choose "wrong".  His will, will prevail. He does as He pleases. We plan, but He decides. You can rest assured that He is your God and that He will guide your steps, not into financial prosperity necessarily, but into a prosperity of your soul.

Remember, God speaks through His Word. And His Word preached. Look not for signs or secret messages. But seek Him always, seek Him in every decision, seek Him wholeheartedly, do not go by emotions or feelings which can be deceiving.  Do not look for signs, because you will find them, but most of the time, will be signs you want to find.

Search the Lord and always go back to His Word, not to the new teachings of today.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Prov. 4:23

4 comments:

Amanda said...

Very refreshing to read a blog by a woman with wisdom instead of the usual evangelical ignorance out there. Last year God delivered me from the false notion of trying to "hear" Him speak to me and give me signs in order to make decisions. It is nice to find some truth in the women's blogging world. It's hard to come by.

Amanda@www.hearshisvoice.wordpress.com

Norma said...

Thank you for stopping by Amanda. I come from there too. So I understand the feeling. Have a blessed day.

Froxy Frocz said...

Thank you so much for this post! Especially notable for me is the NOT relying on getting the "peace" after deciding and looking for signs to corroborate. I suffered mightily for years in the paralysis of indecision and deception of "signs" before i was saved. And there are many times, especially in the life of a busy single mom, where decisions MUST be made quickly and trust in God is the ONLY way to go! Thanks again and a very charming blog design, BTW!

Norma said...

thank you froxy, I am so thankful for your comment. It is very encouraging. As I said before.. this is a big issue for many of us. HAve a blessed day. :)