Exodus 13:21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them....
How are you at waiting on God? How do you determine if God is giving you the green light to move forward? Many businesspeople make the mistake of adding up all the pluses and then concluding that God has given them the green light. Several factors go into making a decision from the Lord.
It is important to do three things before you make a decision on a matter. First, you should gather facts. Fact gathering allows you to determine all the realities of a given situation. However, this does not ultimately drive your decision, but it can put a stop to it. For instance, if you were planning to build a shopping center and you knew the only way to lease the space was to rent to a porn shop, your decision would be made. God would not lead you to enter into unrighteous ventures.
Second, is the Holy Spirit guiding you in your decision? "If the Lord delights in a man's way, He makes his steps firm" (Ps. 37:23). George Mueller cites that the steps are also "by the Lord." God puts hedges around us, but many times we bull our way through the hedges under the guise of tenacity and perseverance. This too is unrighteousness. One wise businessperson stated that the greatest success one can have in business is to know when it is time to pull the plug rather than keep forcing a situation. Not all businesses last forever.
Third, has your decision been confirmed? God has placed others around us to be used as instruments in our lives to confirm decisions and keep us from the deceit of our own heart. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses" (2 Cor. 13:1b). This is God's way of keeping us within the hedge of His protection.
"Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser."
6 comments:
I really like the third one. God has placed others around us to be used as instruments in our lives to confirm decisions and keep us from the deceit of our own heart. That is powerful stuff. Taht also means you have to listen to others...
cas
The wise counsel of close friends will always make for better decisions. I've not thought of that as directly orchestrated by God, but it makes good sense.
tba
i struggle with the second one - sometimes i tend to use "determination and perseverance" as excuses...meaning, i think that i can outwork a situation or that i can "dig deeper" and get through a situation when in reality God is putting the brakes on for me. i guess i sometimes want God's answers to be more black and white and sometimes i have a hard time knowing what God wants.
I do think it is important to allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough to allow other guys to review our lives in the matters that have an impact on our lives as well as our families. Ultimately, it also has an impact on the church body as well.
recently I sought wise counsel before making a large purchase. Even though my "emotions" and Prayers seemed to lead me one way, godly friends who understood the product convinced me not to buy. Thank God for them. I know can see the error in my initial thinking.
read it and your guys comments.
LT
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