How to Make Decisions

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Proverbs 3:5-6
I heard the story of the woman driving through a snowstorm just outside of Denver. She was completely lost and struggling under the hazardous weather conditions. She was relieved when she happened upon a snowplow. Since she was lost she decided to follow the truck and kept as close to the machine as she could while it removed snow from the road. At times the blowing snow almost cut off her view, but she kept following it. After some time, the snowplow stopped and the driver got out and came back to her car. “Lady, where are you going?” he asked. “I’m on my way to Denver.” she replied. The truck driver replied, “Well, you’ll never get there following me! I’m plowing a parking lot!”
Before we let others lead us, it would be helpful to know their direction. The best plan is to follow the One who longs to give direction to our life. Many times we think that God is playing ‘hide and seek’ with us – when it comes to the discovery of His will for our lives. This is not true. God delights in revealing His purpose and plans to His children, if we’re serious about finding His will. The Bible tells us in James 1:5, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” God promises in these verses to direct our paths indicating that He would make them straight and even, but that promise is dependent on some conditions.

I. RESTING STATE-
What does it mean to trust in the Lord? Have you ever thought about that?
That is a difficult task in the anxiety strewn moments of crisis, isn’t it?
Some of us have difficulty ever really trusting the Lord even though we speak of it
It means to calmly accept the ability and willingness of God to do good for us
It speaks of being secure and confident, and indeed, the word trust here means refuge
So, the Bible tells us to rely on God and believe that He is big enough to take care of us
We are even told the extent of our trust when the Bible says, “with all your heart.”
Deuteronomy 33:26-27 "There is none like God, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:"
When we find ourselves anxious or impatient for God to act, we have to trust Him
He is aware of our needs and is working on our behalf on His timetable
If that means that our trial becomes uncomfortable, He has a purpose in it
God is changing us and He is more concerned with our character than our comfort.

II. RELEASE CONTROL-
We have finite understanding, but God knows everything
God says in Isaiah 55:9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
We can’t afford to lean on our own understanding or trust our own judgment
We have a tendency to deify our decision-making process and claim divine guidance
We do what makes sense to us and what we expect to benefit us and get in to trouble
Perhaps we even claim that God was the one who directed us to a particular course
You wouldn’t believe some of the things that people have told me God directed them to
We need common sense, but we don’t have the right to usurp God’s authority
Our lives belong to God and have been entrusted to us
We don’t have the authority to rely on our limited understanding
Why do we so frequently ... next page »