Making Wise Decisions

With a wink and a smile, the old man said, When we were first married, your grandmother and I came to an agreement. I would make all the major decisions, and my wife would make all the minor decisions. At this point grandma came in and said also with a smile, And in our 60 years of marriage, we have never needed to make a major decision.

Funny, isn’t it?, how decisions are made. Some work out for the best, while others are not the best kind. The truth is, of course, that life is filled with choices, and many of them are not the kind we would choose for ourselves.

Sometimes we make hasty decisions which we regret later. Robert Schuller in his book Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do! said he remembered one winter his dad needed firewood, and he found a dead tree and chopped it down. When spring came, new shoots sprouted around the trunk. Mr Schuller said to his son:

I thought it was dead. The leaves had all dropped in winter time—it was so cold that twigs snapped as if there was no life left in the old tree. But now I see there was still life at the taproot. Don’t forget this lesson, Bob. Never cut a tree down in wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time of your life. Never make your most important decisions when you’re in your worst mood. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.

The Wrong Time to Make Important Decisions

I thought that was a great story, and one that is so true. Never cut down a tree in winter—never make a hasty decision at the wrong time in your life. Proverbs 13:16 says, “If you have good sense, you will act sensibly, but fools act like fools”. I guess you, like me, have made some unwise decisions, and if I could wind the clock back I would do some things differently.

It takes courage to make the right decisions, and having faith in God is a big help. Faith means doing the right thing in spite of the consequences. Moses could have spent a few years in the palace of Egypt but he made his decision to accept God’s plan. Obeying God is more important than anything else.

Choice, not chance, determines destiny. Good decisions have nothing to do with luck, but everything to do with good sense and a truth in the Lord. Proverbs 2:6 says, “All wisdom comes from the Lord, and so do common sense and understanding”.

Hope 103.2 is proudly supported by

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;” Proverbs 3:5 – NIV

We can always start with our loving and living God. He is always the starting point. When you need to make a decision, the best question to ask is, What does the Bible say? His Word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. After all we should respect and obey the Lord. And then the rest of life makes sense. He is our Father and we are his children—it means being in the presence of God all the time, even when we don’t feel like we are.

After all, his values supersede ours because he has eternal wisdom, which we don’t. The Bible has some wise words: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes” (Proverbs 3:5-7). Here is the answer to making worthwhile decisions: trust in the Lord. And ‘trust’ is the key word here. God is totally reliable and dependable, and impossible for him to make a mistake.

Reliable friends are also a great asset to help you make decisions. No man is an island, and we all need good friends to share in the adventure of life and point us in the right direction. Having a sincere Christian friend to help with good advice is a real bonus.

God can and will use such people to help you. Many times a difficult situation requires someone else beside yourself to look at the situation objectively. Don’t let pride get in the way of doing what is right.