Decision-Making

As we’ve navigated our business expansion, I have relied on Godly council from 2 sources, my wife and closest and oldest friend. Each step of the way, every major decision has been discussed in-depth with each of them. Along with Godly council, we have prayed for our Lord’s will at each crossroads. A mistake at this point could be costly and have a significant negative impact on our fledgling company.

We’ve talked in the past about how the Lord will speak to us through our family, friends, church, the scriptures and the circumstances of life. As we were returning home from our most recent trip, a tractor trailer passed us. Written in the dirt on the backdoor were 2 scripture verses, Colossians 3:16 and Proverbs 3:5-6. I knew instantly what the Proverbs quote meant but was uncertain of the quote from Colossians. As I read through the verse from Colossians, I realized they spoke of the same thing, looking to the Lord and His word for wisdom in decision making.

That circumstance of life have spoken deeply to me in this season. I had talked with the bank earlier in the day. The individual I spoke with could not remember who I was or the request we had made and she was the person I had talked to about the loan! It wasn’t until I reminded her she remembered. Couple that with what I read on the back of the truck and I knew it meant the bank was probably not going to help us. I was 100% correct in accessing the situation.

We make decisions about our life and work every day. As I’ve walked closer and closer with the Lord, I have found making the tough calls easier as we lay our decisions at the foot of the cross and wait on Him to show us the path. As I close, I am reminded of Psalm 121:1-2 1 I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? 2 No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains. I urge you today to draw closer to Him.

Blessings

Decision-Making
by Os Hillman

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5

This is one of the most quoted verses in the Bible related to gaining wisdom and direction from God. Yet I have never heard one teaching on this passage that teaches what I believe the psalmist is really saying. The first part is pretty easy; we are to trust with all our heart. But the next part is not so clear. We are not to lean on our own understanding. If we are not to lean on our own understanding, on whose understanding are we to lean? God’s!

Throughout the Old Testament we find that God set up structures by which those in authority made decisions. God has always set a principle whereby we are to seek Him in all our decisions, that He might truly make our decisions. In the Old Testament, the priest made decisions based on which way the Urim and Thummim fell inside his breastplate. The casting of lots was another means of allowing a decision to be left with God. Proverbs says, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” (Prov. 16:33). Another means of making a decision was through the agreement of two or three. No one could be guilty of any crime without the witness of two or three. This was a biblical way of confirming a matter. Still another means of making a decision is through a multitude of counselors.

Given all these scenarios, what are we to gain from these examples? We are told in Jeremiah 17:9a, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” So what really protects each of us from the deceit of our own heart? I believe it is the combination of all the above. When we get to a place with God that our decisions are accountable to others, whether that be a wife, a board, or a few close friends who are committed to the same godly ideals, this is when we are protected from the deceit of our own heart. This is one of the hardest things to yield to God-the right to make our own decisions. Yet, it is the most elementary principle God requires of us to receive His blessing in our lives.

This principle took a long time for me to appreciate. However, today I can tell you I would never make a major decision without the counsel of others who are close to me. Relational accountability has become lost in our culture due to our hunger for independence. I have experienced too often the hardship that results from making decisions that God isn’t behind. Walking in obedience is the only real freedom in Christ.