On Making Decisions

We face many decisions in our lives. Some are pretty insignificant and others may have life altering ramifications.  Making decisions can be one of the most difficult things we as Christians must deal with because there is an added responsibility placed on us.  We don’t make decisions based solely on what seems best to or for us in the present but based on something bigger.  One of the highest callings we have as a follower of Jesus is to bring glory to God, therefore all that we do ought to bring glory and honor and praise to our God.  I (and I imagine others do as well) often struggle with the question whether I am making a decision that God would have me make. 

There is a spectrum of decision making that on one extreme includes little of God in the decision making process and which goes to the other extreme of not being able to make any decision without a clear divine instruction.  The scale of the choice influences how much consideration we give it.  It probably matters little to God whether I choose a Kit-Kat as opposed to a Coffee Crisp, after all God has uniquely given us humans the ability to think and have free-will.  But if I am deciding whether to buy a new house or to move to a new community, I will do my best to discern God’s leading and wait for clear direction.
The scope of the decision often impacts the amount of seeking God’s direction and leading that we do. This comes down to a pretty simple question: How much of God is enough in making decisions?  (As if that can be measured!)

I was struck this week by Colossians 2:6 which says, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” While this is an encouragement to continue in a life following Jesus, it also speaks to knowing God: Walk in Christ.  That is the key to decision making that isn’t empty of God or paralyzing while we do nothing as we wait for God. 

When you’ve spent a considerable amount of time with someone (like your spouse) you begin to know what they’re thinking and how they will act.  The same is true with God. The more time spent with Him in prayer and in the Word, the more His ways will be known to you.  As you grow with God, the less you have to stop and anxiously wait or exclude God from whatever decision you’re facing.  His ways become yours as you walk with Him, you develop a sense of knowing even as you seek His face in all you do. 

So walk in him.

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