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Feb 09, 2022 08:00am

How Do We Make Godly Decisions?

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Leaders are required to make decisions that could potentially cause their churched to get off the course that God intended. Every decision must be saturated in prayer and stand firmly on the truth of God’s Word.

In John 16:13 Jesus tells His disciples, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” Your faith will be challenged as you choose to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. You must consent to not only His presence but also submit to the actions He desires to take in your in your ministry. You are thankful He is there and you want Him in the driver’s seat.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into truth, but don’t be upset when you’re not sure what He’s doing in your life. God has a plan and you will not always know what He’s up to, but you know that you can trust Him. Don’t becomeunsettled when your questions go unanswered. Read Hebrews 11 and know that without faith it is impossible to please Him. Resist the urge to ask Him to give you more than you need if that will cause you to trust Him less. The Lord desires us to trust Him daily, to cry out to Him for direction daily, and to take up our crosses – denying self – daily.

How then do you make good and godly decisions knowing that one wrong decision has the potential for critical impact on your life, family, and church? Your sinful decisions can even visit and impact generations after you. The world says you should consult counselors such as financial advisors, career guidance counselors, and business coaching. All of these can be tremendously beneficial, but there is more to good decision-making than weighing all the evidence, comparing the pros and cons, and taking the logical course of action. If all else fails you could flip a coin and accept the fifty-fifty chance of being wrong.

Henry Blackaby says it well: “God doesn’t want us to do what we think is best: He wants us to do what He knows is best!” Remember that the Holy Spirit guides into “all the truth.” The primary reference here is to New Testament writers. Jesus tells the disciples in John 14:26, “The Holy Spirit . . . will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.” Jesus is referring to the four gospels, telling them they will be reminded of everything He had spent more than three years teaching them. In John 15:26-27 Jesus says, “He will testify about me and you also will testify.” The fulfillment of this truth is found in the book of Acts.

John 16:12 continues, “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now.” Jesus says more truth is coming and lets them know that this New Testament truth can be trusted. The Holy Spirit would also continue to guide into all the truth they were not quite ready for yet: the epistles. Then He tells them that the Holy Spirit would guide them in how everything would come to a conclusion. John 16:13 says, “He will also declare to you what is to come,” which is speaking of the Revelation. Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirt who inspired the Old Testament would also inspire the New Testament.

What a comforting declaration Jesus is giving the disciples. They would soon have the complete cannon of Scripture and Jesus was confirming its reliability. Only the Holy Spirit, since He is God, knows all that God knows, and thus is equallyqualified to reveal divine truth to man.

Because He is the Spirit of Truth, the Bible is inerrant, God breathed. Second Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness.” Yes, the Holy Spirit was coming to comfort, guide, and be our constant helper, but He was coming primarily so that Scripture, all truth, could guide us.

This demands a complete admittance of total dependance upon God by immersing yourself in His Word.

When you fill your mind with Scripture, before long, you will find yourself thinking, acting and being directed by biblical principles.

Out of your commitment to God’s Word you are able to make good, godly decisions. You are also committed to prayer. Often called “God’s phone number,” Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Make sure you are asking Him to guide you daily in every decision and not only when you are facing problems.

This prayer principle is not only for the church and church leaders. There is no dividing line between sacred and secular because God is not restrained by manmade artificial boundaries. Prayer will keep you focused on the one absolutely consistent factor in life: God. He is immutable and, therefore, unchanging over time and unable to be changed. God’s Word is settled in heaven forever. The Holy Spirit is the one who enables us to not be upset when we are unsure what He is doing. He is the one who empowers us to not be unsettled when our questions go unanswered. The Holy Spirit will aid us in trusting Him completely.

How tragic it is to face a major decision that desperately calls for God’s wisdom, but you have grown unfamiliar with His voice. You have become disoriented to what is right and wrong because you have not been communicating with Him daily and consistently. Maybe you just wish you had more time to pray. Daniel had enormous government responsibilities, yet his habit was to have three dedicated times of prayer every day. Daniel’s political enemies desired to remove him from his position and executed. How did Daniel face these attacks and this danger? He prayed, as was His custom.

God faithfully guided and protected him. Daniel had complete confidence in his rich relationship with God. You say you have complete faith in God, but you don’t have a rich, deep daily walk with Him? Daniel’s confidence came from not only who God is but also from Daniel’s daily experience with Him. Daniel talked to God regularly and knew that whatever happened, God was with him. He came out of a seemingly hopeless situation victorious . . .

I’m not sure this is what happened, but I can just see Daniel being lowered into the lion’s den and saying, “Leo, go over there and sit down and shut up!”