Many people have wasted their Christian life to take wrong decisions, outside the will of God (such as when they take a job, a marriage and a wrong education, in addition to mistakes in changing from one place to another). It is not only the youth who make wrong decisions, many adults and even elderly people, have committed serious errors.
We will give below some basic principles to make decisions according to God's will:
1. - "Do not lean on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5, 28:26, Jeremiah 17:9).The person who trusts in his own understanding does not follow God's will, so in general it takes wrong decisions. Because of our fallen hearts, we do not have the ability to make for ourselves, wise decisions. Therefore, we must always seek God and trust in Him alone.
To achieve this, we must be diligent students of the Bible, because only through this we know the mind of the Lord (1 Corinthians 2:16), His will (Psalm 119:105) and we have faith (Romans 10:17). We need to keep a daily study of the Bible and effective. We must be faithful [attendants] to the ministry of preaching and teaching church delivered a [really] believe in the Bible. We must seize every opportunity to grow in grace and knowledge of God's Holy Word in order to get to know and follow His will.
2. - Trust in the Lord and ask Him more wisdom (Proverbs 3:5-6).Instead of relying on our own understanding, we must release to the Lord, begging Him wisdom and guidance in every important decision. He promised to guide His people, but we must seek His guidance and not just assumed it. We acknowledge Him in all our ways. It is tempting to think: "Well, Lord knows I need His wisdom and help. Certainly, he will we give, automatically. " In fact, God taught us in His Word to pray specifically and decisively on all matters. Failure to do so is to take a step to take wrong decisions.
3. - Walking in the light (1 John 1:5-6).Living in sin is to walk in darkness, this being a hindrance to thought and spiritual life (1 Peter 2:11).
When a believer is disobedient and cynical about their parents, rude, critical or bitter, to exercise authority over the wife, and when it fails to show due honor to her husband, lying, stealing and loving the evil things of the world, your prayers are stopped and they will not have the wisdom to make wise decisions.
Important decisions in a fallen spiritual state, is a recipe for disaster. Many believers who were with their hearts away from the Lord were married, took a job or a wrong field of education and developed friendships on which will grieve deeply in the future. Watch out!
4. - "Delight yourself in the Lord" (Psalm 37:4)The best way to know God's will is to put him in the center of the affections. His will is not known who takes the Christian life through a simple "make" or "do". It is found by those who know God and delight in Him. When we do, He put the right desires in our heart and then makes these desires. [N.T. - The more you study the Word of God, the less desire to do evil in the heart cherishes you]. On the other hand, the worldly Christians, or nominal, live dominated by futile yearning contrary to God's will, and gets frustrated when such desires are not realized.
5. - Never make a decision that leads him to disobey the teaching of the Bible (John 8:31-32).What is the will of God? As we find it? Basically, the will of God is to obey His Word. Jesus described this as "walking in my word."Any decision to take us to disobey the Bible is contrary to God's will, without exception. This is what it means to "live by faith."Living by faith is simply believing in God and obey His Word (Romans 10:17); means taking informed decisions in the Bible, rather than grounded in feelings, thoughts and circumstances.Then, we must trust in God, for He will open the right doors and provide the needs.
Let's consider some examples and how they relate to the fact to make wise decisions, as God's will:
The Bible says to not associate with evil or with idolatry. (1 Corinthians 15:33, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 5:11).
Living by faith means that I am not associated with these things.Thus, it is the will of God that I frequent ballads, pagan school or get a job in a place that I require participation in malignancy (such as selling alcohol, wear indecent, lewd watch movies, play music or sensual malignant) participate in pagan rituals, fashion shows, etc.. I remember a teenager in a church, which got a job in a house of screenings. It was saturated with indecent movies and wanted to leave, but was advised not to do so, the mundane pastor of his church. The result was that eventually, she fell into a grievous sin.
I remember a man employed in a bar-restaurant, which was responsible for overseeing the worldly festivities that included alcohol and dancing. He did not grow spiritually could not even make wise decisions, while not abandoned that job.
The Bible teaches us not to forsake the assembling (Hebrews 10:25). The church is "the house of God" (1 Timothy 3:15).Therefore, we should not take any decision that would lead us to forsake the assembling, such as moving to a place where there is a good church or a job that will take us away from cults. I remember a young man in our church that had been saved from life-style drugs. He promised and was growing in the Lord, until their parents demanded that he return to live in his [small] town [where there was no good church that he might become a member]. Contrary to our advice, it was, and from that day, he kicked in the Christian life. We have seen this happen many times.
The truth is that one of the main reasons people leave the church is that they disobey God by taking a job away from the cults, and so we end up kicking. Consider the following two warnings:
"We lost about 20% of our young people, after the 7th. degree; this because they get jobs that away from the church, being forced to work on Sundays. When they get such jobs, it becomes easier to justify the lack to worship, what they usually do. "
"We have observed that many believers who leave [the church] have the idea that if God gives them a job that requires a lack cults, then everything is fine. And if God gives them a job that requires the use of indecent clothing, everything's OK, because they think they are strong enough to perform such jobs, and at the same time continue attending church. As director of young singles, have stressed the fact that God has the perfect job for us and Satan also has his. However, most kids do not wait for the job that God will give you. "
When a person lives by faith, she takes a job to take her to disobey the Word of God, away from the church. The Bible teaches "do not unequally yoked together with unbelievers" (2 Corinthians 6:14). Thus, it is never the will of God that a believer marries an unbeliever, associates in business with an unbeliever, or the like. I remember a man who was among the first converted into a new church. He was doing well, growing spiritually until it entered a partnership with an unbeliever, which is used dishonest conduct business. Because of this, he ended up in prison and his record has been corrupted.
The Bible tells us not to associate with false doctrine (Rom. 16:17; 2 John 10-11). This means not the will of God that the believer often one Bible study or church where it is taught [a] false doctrine, where he read books, listen to sermons of false teachers, or keep friendly relations with someone who promotes false doctrine . I remember two young men of our church that promised much and seemed to be growing in the Lord, until he began attending a Bible study led by a false teacher, and then abandoned the church.
Make wise decisions means that a child of God will do nothing contrary to the Word of God. When we disobey the Bible, we can not expect God's blessing. What many Christians do is hold their own plans and then ask God to bless them, but this is a setback [spiritual]. First we make sure our plans are in accordance with the will of God, then rightly ask and expect God's blessing.
6. - Do not fear man, fear God (Proverbs 29:25)Jesus commanded us to love him more than we love our beloved relatives. See Luke 14:26. What Jesus meant when he taught that we should hate our nearest and loved ones? We understand this by comparing Scripture with Scripture. Consider a parallel passage in Matthew 10:37. When Jesus said we must hate our father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters, He was saying we should not love them more than we love Him and love His will.The Lord requires that we get absolutely first, above everything else. Family relationships are important and the Word of God teaches us to care for our loved ones (1 Timothy 5:8, Colossians 3:18-21). At the same time, the call to the work of God takes precedence over our human relationships. Through the centuries, many have stood the divine call because of family ties. There are powerful forces at work. I remember the man who led me to Christ. When God called him to preach, his wife gave him an ultimatum, warning that it would abandon him if he did not stop preaching. He begged her to stay, but refused to give up preaching. Eventually, she left him and took the child with her. The man was heartbroken, but refused to stop preaching, thus obeying the command to preach the Word of God. Many who face a choice so have chosen to abandon the vocation [called by God], giving back to God.
If someone wants to make a wise decision as the will of God, should fear Him and serve Him more than man. If you need to choose between obeying their friends or relatives, and to obey and please God, please God should prefer.
It is a grave sin, fearing relatives and friends more than the fear of God. Many unbelievers commit this sin and end up in hell because they were "shy". (Revelation 21:8). Many of those in hell would say that they are there because they feared what others would think. Many Christians also commit this sin. We must remember that "we were bought with a price and we are not ourselves." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This is what baptism means.The believer dies to the old life and symbolically reborn to a new life in which Christ is the Lord of all. (Romans 6:34).
Young people always commit the sin of fear the opinions of men.They know that God is calling them to a life of piety and service, but do not want to leave the crowd and, therefore, fail to do God's will. As a new Christian, I had to face this dilemma when he learned that God wanted me to cut my long hair, with considerable hesitation in doing it, knowing it would no longer seem "cool." Many Christian girls refuse to dress decently and in a feminine way, because they fear others more than they fear God. Are silly. Jesus warned us: "For whoever among this adulterous and sinful generation, is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." (Mark 8:38).
7. - Honoring the authorityAnother important principle to make wise decisions is to honor the authority established by God. The Bible speaks much about it. (See Romans 13:1), 1 Corinthians 11:3, Ephesians 5:22, 6:1-3, 1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 3:1, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 2:13-15).
I have seen many believers taking wrong decisions that lead them away from God, when they fail to honor and obey the authorities God has placed upon them. Many young people have made the mistake of not honoring their parents, and because of that, they make bad marriages, friendships gained dangerous, wrong schools attended, joined the wrong church, moved to the wrong places and took other bad decisions, the which could have been avoided if they simply honored their parents.
The same mistake has been committed by wives who disobeyed and did not honor their husbands. Our mother Eve is an example of this.
This error has also been committed by church members who disobey and dishonor their leaders. If you get angry or upset with their leaders, will not make wise decisions. It is not wrong to question them, but it is wrong to take a wrong attitude towards them. I have seen many good people leave churches and kick [spiritually], because they were upset with their leaders, having refused to seek repentance. We must remember that the church leaders are just men, far from being perfect. This is not an excuse but a fact. They are not above the Word of God, and when they sin, they should be disciplined, according to biblical way (1 Timothy 5:19-20). But a leader must always give the benefit of the doubt. There is a reason to leave a church when it is not linked to the Word of God, but we must take care to leave it the right way, becoming a stronger church and not a weaker one in the Bible.
Authorities should be tested by the Word of God. We must not give blind obedience to authority figures, because we live in a fallen world and the highest authority is God. All authority should be tested by the Word of God. Compare Acts 5:29, 17:11.
The authorities should be given the benefit of the doubt. Most times when people disagree with the authorities, they do not on the basis of Scripture, but their own thoughts and opinions. When I find that an authority is not acting correctly, I must ask myself: "Do I have a Scripture to prove to me that this leader is acting improperly, or just I am mistaken on this point?" In light of the many commands Scripture to obey those who rule over us, is dangerous to reject the existing authorities on a basis that is not in Scripture rightly divided (2 Tim 2:15).
8. - Seek wise counsel (Proverbs 12:15, 19:20).One of the most important ways to make wise choices, according to the will of God, to seek a godly counsel, wise and mature people (Proverbs 24:6). The classic case in Scripture of someone who failed to do so is to Rehoboam son of Solomon (1 Kings 12:1-6). Soon after he ascended the throne, he was confronted by subjects who asked to be treated compassionately. Before taking a decision on the matter, he consulted the old men who had advised his father and they wisely advised him to meet the request of his people. Then he consulted his own comrades, who advised him to treat people the way they wanted. Having followed the latter advice, Rehoboam lost half the kingdom.
Seek the advice of the closest (Proverbs 27:10). Often seek advice from people who are away, instead of searching for it in that are closer. A lot of strangers have written to me for years, asking opinion about situations of their families and churches, which always found it strange and unreasonable. Often people seek advice from far away, because they do not know or know your situation, but exactly for this reason is that you should seek advice from closer. For a young person to first for advice should be with their parents, especially if they are believers. Then he could get the church leaders. God gives the church leaders so that they can help people as a shepherd and sheep, which should ensure for their souls (Hebrews 13:7). Leaders listen to the members of the church and pray for them, asking that God give you wisdom.
In our church, we encourage young people, who are considering marriage, to talk to their parents and then with the leaders of the church. When a guy is interested in youth, we encourage you not to pursue the matter, without first talking to church leaders. They know things that young people are unaware, and thus can give them good advice, whether or not it is prudent to continue with that relationship. Those who ignore this procedure invariably have confused the issue.
Seek the advice of the people in charge of caring for young. They not only know how to care for you, developing an interest in their welfare, particularly because they are not somehow involved in her life.
Check the board for the Word of God. As noted in the previous paragraph, about honoring the constituted authorities, we should not give blind obedience to leaders of this fallen world. Let us be like the Bereans, checking each subject by the Word of God (Acts 17:11).
9. - Look to the future (Hebrews 11:24-27).At some time in his life, Moses took an important decision, "when he was tired of years." He was adopted as a son of Pharaoh, who was the richest and most powerful monarch, at the time.Moses might have preferred to receive their share of wealth and power of the pharaoh, seeking pleasures, but instead he chose his portion with the despised Jewish slaves. He took this wise decision, looking to the future, as the Word of God. He contemplated the future life and saw that they follow the God of Israel, would suffer the reproach of Christ, but also the riches of Christ, the eternal kingdom. However, if Pharaoh followed, would have "a little time for the pleasures of sin", but then a whole eternity to regret. (Hebrews 11:24-27).
Every young Christian should follow the example of Moses, asking yourself: "If I make this decision, what will happen to me on the way? What are the eternal consequences, if I marry this person if I take this job if I get an education determined [by me, stubbornly chosen] if I move to that country, if I go to that party if I continue in this friendship if I buy that TV if I sing that song if I'm careless about what I see on the Internet if I leave my heart to cling to the love of this world ... "
Unbelievers can not predict the future, because they walk in darkness and do not believe in the Bible. Support their decisions entirely on what your eyes see. Take into account only the fleeting things such as money, pleasure, prestige, etc.. The believer is a light that is not the unbeliever. And so we can make wise decisions, based on what he learned in the Word of God. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
10. - Wait on God (Psalm 27:14).When a believer is striving to make a decision according to the will of God, is very important to avoid rush. When we are rushed, it's easy to make a wrong decision. Must we wait until we are sure that we know the mind of the Lord and He will take care of us.
Joshua and Israel were in a hurry, when they agreed to an alliance with the Gibeonites, relying on their eyes, without seeking the Lord's face on the matter. (Joshua 9:14-15).
There are two biblical principles to which we look when we wait for the Lord: be at peace and not confusion. We find these principles in 1 Corinthians 14:33. If we are confused, we must never take any particular decision, because ...
"The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy" (James 3:17).
When I am seeking the Lord's will, I must seek peace. If I feel inclined to do something, to find out whether my peace grows or increases my doubt. When something is of God, peace and faith increase, but if there is confusion and doubt, this is not the will of God, since I am not in doubt and in peace.
We saw ten keys to make wise decisions, according to the will of God. After the gift of salvation, nothing is more important in life than learning to make wise decisions.
Author: David Cloud
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