Skip to main content

“God wants us to be excellent choosers.”

A thought by John Ortberg, (2015-02-24) from his book. All the Places to Go . . . HowWill You Know?: God Has Placed before You an Open Door.  What Will You Do?   (p. 108). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

But we don’t like to make choices because we are afraid to be wrong.  And that is one of the reasons why we are constantly praying for God’s will in different choices that we are called to make.  It also is very difficult.  It really is.

But John says, “God wants us to learn to choose well. That may be why, when we look at the Bible, there is no chapter devoted to ‘How to know God’s will for your life.’ Often when we are faced with a real-life choice, the Bible seems no more helpful than Yogi Berra’s old dictum: ‘When you come to a fork in the road, take it.’ Paul doesn’t write about ‘six steps to determine if he’s the one’ or ‘five ways to discern God’s job for you.’ What we do see are statements like this: ‘If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you’ (James 1: 5, NRSV). Or ‘This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best’ (Philippians 1: 9-10).”

Two other thoughts he gives on this are, “If I’m facing a choice and I want to find God’s will for my life, I don’t begin by asking which choice is God’s will for my life. I need to begin by asking for wisdom.”

And then, “The biggest difference between people who flourish in life and those who don’t is not money, health, talent, connections, or looks.  It’s wisdom — the ability to make good decisions.”

I think Proverbs in the Old Testament would be a good place to start.  Solomon asked God for wisdom and he is the writer of this book.  Or James in the New Testament is a good book to read.  Read these and pray that God will give you wisdom.


So what choices are you facing today?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Jesus comes in the midst of the torrent."

  A thought by Max Lucado from his book,  You Are Never Alone  (p. 60). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)   We all have storms in our lives, don't we? Max says, "No one gets through life scot-free. At one point or another the sky will darken, the winds will rage, and we will find ourselves in a modern-day version of the Galilean gusher." John 6:16–18 (NIV) says, "When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough." Max goes on, "The hearts of the followers began to sink as their boat was certain to do. Their skin was soaked, throats hoarse, eyes wide. They searched the sky for a break in the clouds. They gripped the boat for fear of the waves. They screamed their prayers for help. But they heard nothing. "If only Jesu

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life.   It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed.   Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life.   Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you.   You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good.   Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because God is good He will use e

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident.   In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose.   In other words you are not an accident.   I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth.   In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man.   And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ”   Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like?   Like that characteristic is a curse or something.   Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God.   Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Jesus did answer the question about the blind