How To Make Godly Decisions

Every day we make hundreds of decisions, probably thousands. Many decisions we make we are not particularly aware of! But, some decisions are weighty. Let’s talk about how to make tough decisions in the light of God’s will.

Let’s talk about decisions that keep us up at night. Some are life-threatening, or life-changing and those kinds of decisions are scary and hard!  

When we make decisions the one thing that is a must is to be in God’s will for our lives! We want to be wise and discerning and above all keep in the center of His will!

First, let me say that all decisions should be made in light of God’s word. The bible should be the plumbline by which our lives are measured. But, there are some decisions that get muddled up with emotions and options and plain indecisiveness! Here are 5 steps to take when making those tough decisions…

PRAY

Have a conversation with God. He already knows what you want and what the outcome will be. God knows what is best for your life. He is Omniscient. He is ALL KNOWING. He sees history past, present, and future all at once.

I like to think of God knowing all of history and every single detail like the number of hairs on our head (Matt 10:20, Luke 12:7) as if He has a panoramic view of all things. Nothing is hidden!

Then why does God want us to pray if he already knows?

Because He wants to have a close and meaningful relationship with us. He knows, but WE don’t! He wants us to learn and grow in Him and that means making decisions that are according to His word and will. In doing so, we glorify God and magnify (make big) God in our lives. 

GET YOUR HEART RIGHT

Get your heart (mind, will, emotion and intellect) in such a state that it has no will of its own.

Not an easy thing to do! But 9/10 of the difficulty in making a tough decision is overcoming our own strong wills! We need to make God’s will for our lives ours!

This is oftentimes a battle. If most of us were truly honest we can confess that we want our own way. So spend time in God’s Word and in prayer asking God to make His will yours.

So many times we try to see “signs” and have “feelings” that bend towards our own preferences. But, really the best thing for us is always God’s will!

FEELING ARE DECEPTIVE

And speaking of “feelings”, they can be so deceiving! Do not make a decision out of feelings or “impressions”. The longer we walk with God the better we are at discerning God’s will for our lives.

Make decisions based on the word of God.

A sure way to know that something is NOT the will of God is that is DOES NOT align with His word!

If what we feel or think God is telling us goes against the Word of God then we can be SURE that it is not God’s will and not from God.

BE VERY CAREFUL to base any decision of God’s word!

SEEK GOD’S COUNSEL THROUGH HIS WORD

Seek the Spirit of God through connecting with the Word of God! Simply, talk to God and ask Him to show you His will and read your Bible. These things must be connected to making a wise and godly decision.

God will NEVER, NEVER, NEVER ask you to make a decision that goes against His word… NEVER!!!!

Romans 12:2 says…

AND DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, THAT YOU MAY PROVE WHAT THE WILL OF GOD IS, THAT WHICH IS GOOD AN ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT.

In other words, God is saying do not identify with the ungodliness and desires of what we see around you. Doing so is a sure way to make wrong decisions!

But be transformed, a process of renewing that happens by the power of God. It is a change of heart (your thoughts, your will, and your intellect).

And here’s how to test whether or not something is in God’s will. Test it! Put what you think you are hearing from God up against the Word of God to see if your thoughts align with God’s word.

This is so important because you want to know God’s will for your decision and life.

We want to make decisions that are good in God’s eyes. Decisions that are acceptable and well-pleasing to God, knowing these godly decisions will grow us up to be spiritually and intellectually mature.  

We want our thoughts, will and intellect to be exactly like our Father’s!

SEEK GODLY COUNSEL AND PRAYER PARTNERS

Being a part of the body of Christ means we have an army of prayer partners and warriors who will lovingly storm the Throne of Grace on our behalf.

Don’t let our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ sit idle when they can be helping you the best way possible.

Ask them to join you in prayer!

Also seek the godly wisdom of your pastors, elders and other wise people in your church!

LOOK FOR THE FINGERPRINTS OF GOD

Lastly, after we have done all the above, take into account Providential circumstances. I say this with a warning! Make sure you have earnestly prayed, gotten your heart into a state that it has no will of it’s own to the best of your ability. Make very sure you have discounted “feelings” and “impressions” and have sought the Spirit of God through His Word. 

God’s word says… 

THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS AND DESPERATELY WICKED. WHO CAN KNOW IT? Jere. 17:9

Our heart… mind, will, emotion and intellect… is the most crooked and incurable sick-with-wickedness thing in the whole world! It is so full of pride and self seeking that there is really no way to know the depths of it’s sickness.

Yes, that IS how bad our heart’s really are! Don’t you see why we need to be transformed? 

Once we have totally handed our hearts over to God’s will we can then look for God’s working in our lives. That is what Providential circumstances are. Ways we can see God showing us his will in a tangible way.

PRAISE GOD IN ALL THINGS

This is not the easy way to make a tough decision, is it? But is is the GODLY way!

God does not guarantee that our answer will be swift either. But God is faithful. So, we need to be faithful. Keep on praying and seeking and reading the Bible and looking for God’s answer without letting our will’s muck up the whole thing!

When you finally make a godly decision, remember to praise and thank God! And don’t fall into the pit of doubt. Believe God and nothing else!

Thank Him, praise Him, glorify Him! He loves you! Show your love and appreciation to Him.

Make what God has done for you part of your testimony, the sharing of proof, to your sphere of influence! Speak of the goodness, grace, teaching and leading of the Lord!

I hope this will help you make those tough decisions we all face in life with confidence that God will show you the right way to go!

May we be blessed and matured and give glory to God through all of our tough decisions in our lives!

This week’s memorization verse:

AND DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, THAT YOU MAY PROVE WHAT THE WILL OF GOD IS, THAT WHICH IS GOOD AN ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT.

Have a blessed Sunday!