So far our decision-making matrix includes: the Bible, prayer and the Holy Spirit, and wise counsel. The last factor that plays into our decision is the opportunities and desires we have for our own lives. We want to do God’s will, but we struggle. Often we are scared that if we discover His will, He will make us do something we really don’t want to do. We don’t really ask God what He wants us to do – we give Him our ideas and ask Him to bless one of them. I really believe that God wants us to do what we want to do. Let’s consider how opportunities and desires fit into Godly decision-making.
Opportunities are a huge indicator of God’s will. We can only do something if we actually have the opportunity to do it. God opens and closes doors for us. No matter where we might think God is leading us, we can only go through the doors He has actually opened. You can only go to the college to which you get accepted. You can only take the job you are offered. You can only marry the girl if she says “yes.” Closed doors are God redirecting us. Maybe we need to go back and start over in studying the Scriptures, praying, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and seeking wise counsel. God doesn’t want His will to be a great mystery. It is findable.
Our delights shape our desires. Psalm 37 says that when we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. It says that the Lord establishes our steps when we delight in His way. When we become believers, the Gospel transforms our lives. Jesus becomes Lord of our lives. Our old ways give way to new ways. Our old desires give way to new ones, desires that take after God’s desires.
Desires are powerful and can be dangerous if they are not from God. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” We cannot trust our own hearts. Following our heart is only good if our heart is submitted to God.
God has plans for us. He cares about and is involved in every detail of our lives. In the Bible, it seems that God plans out our lives before we are even born. God planned for Jeremiah to be a prophet. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) In Psalm 139:16 David writes, “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” God planned out your life before you were even born. He knows His plans for you and wants you to follow them.
If we use the resources God has given us, we can and will make Godly life decisions!