Luke Scallon
Published in The Des Moines County News on January 17, 2017.

Life is a series of continual decision-making.  There are some really big decisions to make at times:  What college will I go to?  What will I study?  Who will I marry?  What job do I want?  Where will I live?  But we are also constantly making small decisions all the time:  What time should I get up?  What should I eat for breakfast?  What time should I leave for work?  How fast should I drive?  How do I respond to other drivers?

How do we discern the right choices in the midst of our decisions?  Should we base them on our desires?  Should we base them on our feelings?  Should we flip a coin or roll a dice?  Should we take the path of least resistance?  And, how would I ever know what God wants me to do?

There is one place we can always turn when seeking direction.  Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”  The Bible doesn’t spell out clear, step-by-step instructions for every decision in life.  But it is the only basis by which we can know God and what He wants.  It won’t tell us where we’ll be in ten or twenty years.  But it does shine light on our next step.

The best place to start is with prayer!  Want to know what God wants?  Ask Him!  But as you do so, be willing to both trust and obey God.  Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

We often go running to God in our big decisions.  However, this starts with our little decisions.  Why follow God in big things and ignore Him in the small things?  Life is lived in the little moments of every day.  What God has to say about those times matters!  That’s why we are told to “in all [our] ways acknowledge Him.”  So I should let little decisions be guided by truth in the Bible.  I should decide to forgive when I’m angry.  I should decide to be honest when I’m tempted to lie.  I should decide to obey the speed limit even when I’m running late.  These are things the Bible clearly tells us!  Practice following God in the small decisions, so you are ready to follow Him in the big decisions.

Where the Bible does not give clear directions for our decision, we still follow wisdom principles, and trust and ask God.  He will not give an audible response, and we need not resort to coin-flipping… but God does use wise counsel, our desires, and even circumstances to guide us.  The best part of seeking God’s will is drawing near to God – when we take our eyes off our destination and start enjoying God in the journey!