DECISIONS

I Was Just Thinking About – DECISIONS.

In my devotional reading this morning and my reflecting on a sermon I will preach this coming Lord’s Day, I believe the Lord used His Word to remind of a truth I never want to forget. I’m reading in the Berean Study Bible (BSB) Psalm 86:11-13, “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth. Grant me UNDIVIDEDNESS OF HEART so that I may fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever. For great is Your loving devotion to me…”

For many years, one of my Biblical heroes has been Caleb. My prayer and hope has been that I might be remembered as he was because it is noted that he followed the Lord WHOLEHEARTEDLY. I am attracted to the words he expressed in Joshua 14:6-12. Caleb references that he and Joshua were the only spies who had followed the Lord wholeheartedly. He recalls and rehearses the promise of Moses about inheritances in the promised land when he was 40 years of age. Forty-five years have passed and Caleb has assisted the other tribes to get settled. He is now ready to inherit his mountain. His appeal to Joshua is given in verse 9: “Moses swore to me on that day – the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever…(at age 85, he said): I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then…So now, give me my mountain (hill country) of which the Lord spoke on that day.”

The words of David and Caleb that ring and resonate in my heart, soul and mind are: “undividedness of heart” and “wholeheartedness” in serving and following the Lord. In 1857, Horatius wrote:

Thy way, not mine, O Lord, However dark it be!
Lead me by Thine own hand, 

Choose out the path for me.

Smooth let it be or rough, It will be still the best;
Winding or straight, it leads Right onward to Thy rest.

Not mine, not mine the choice 

In things or great or small;
Be Thou my guide, my strength 

My wisdom, and my all.

For some, making or reaching a decision seems to be easy. How they reach a decision is another matter. Some are ego-driven and have a spirit of being superior to others. Others are hesitant, rightly or wrongly, as they feel a sense of inadequacy, inferiority or unworthiness. The Biblical words of caution should always be primary for everyone. Proverbs 16:2 (BSB) is a good cautionary reminder: “All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed by the Lord.” Just think – one’s MOTIVES being weighed by the Lord. Proverbs 14:15 (NASB) reminds one: “The naive believes everything, But the sensible man considers his steps.” The wise and sensible person considers carefully what steps should be taken and what decision should be made. Will it be easy and simple? No! The words that are helpful are expressed in Isaiah 30:21 (BSB), “And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: THIS IS THE WAY. WALK IN IT.” That’s where I want to be. That’s where you should want to be. That’s where the Biblical Church needs to be.

I want the words of Abraham’s servant as he travelled to find a bride for Isaac to be true for me. How would he know where to go? How would he be enabled to make the right and wise decision in behalf of his Master? The words in Genesis 24:27 (KJV) state the answer: “I being in the way, the Lord led me.” In 1875, Fanny Crosby wrote:

All the way my Savior leads me; 

O the fullness of His love!
This my song through endless ages—

Jesus led me all the way.

Prayerfully – consider these things with me!