The Road To: Decisions
The road to: Decisions
Decisions shape every day of our lives. From small choices like what to wear to big ones like how to vote or how to respond to a crisis, we constantly decide. For Christians, decision-making often connects to deeper questions about identity, purpose, and guidance: Who am I? What is God calling me to do? Where do I look for direction—Scripture, prayer, or wise counsel?
Decision-Making and Christian Life
Decisions for a Christian move beyond the practical and into the moral and spiritual. They test our values and reveal our priorities. Choosing well requires clear information, honest self-examination, and awareness of the consequences for others. When our choices affect other people, we must ask whether our actions are ethical, moral, and honoring to God.
Character and Choices
Rudyard Kipling’s poem "If" reads like a manual for character, and character is built from repeated choices. Keeping calm when others panic, trusting yourself while respecting others’ doubts, dreaming without being dominated by dreams, and meeting triumph and disaster with the same composure are all behaviors born of deliberate decisions. Character forms the template that guides how we act under pressure and how we treat others.
Guidance from Scripture
Scripture offers clear direction for decision-making. Highlights include:
Transformation and discernment: Be renewed in your mind so you can test and discern God’s will, what is good, acceptable, and perfect (Romans 12:1–2).
Trust and direction: Trust the Lord with all your heart and do not rely solely on your own understanding; acknowledge God and He will guide your path (Proverbs 3:5–6).
Value of counsel: A person who thinks they are always right is foolish; a wise person listens to advice (Proverbs 12:15).
Plans and advisers: Plans fail without counsel; many advisers bring success (Proverbs 15:22).
The Role of Prayer
Prayer is central to making difficult decisions. It slows us down, reduces the urge for hasty choices, and helps us consider consequences, others’ needs, and God’s purposes. Prayer doesn’t remove responsibility; it brings perspective and peace that shape wiser, more measured choices.
Decisions Shape Identity
Every decision contributes to who we become. Looking back, the choices we made—big and small—map the trajectory of our lives. Decisions reveal our character in action and, over time, solidify our identity.
My Prayer for Wise Decisions
Oh God, there are days (and nights) when I agonize over a decision. I pray for guidance. With Jesus as my example and the Holy Spirit as my guide, help me make wise choices. I also pray that we, collectively, make wiser decisions. Remind us that each decision reflects who we are. May our lives measure up to Your standards. Amen.
What is your prayer?
Praying for you,
PB
Community Presbyterian Church (CPC) welcomes all people into God’s way of life and community.
“Community” means those we know well and those we hope to know, those sitting next to us in a pew, and those we encounter day by day. It’s large and expansivew. It’s small and intimate.
Community Presbyterian Church
32202 Del Obispo
San Juan Capistrano. CA 92675
949-493-1502
info@sjcpres.org