Our theme for this month: “Mistakes”
Our Bible verse for today: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word. I have sought You will all my heart; don’t let me wander from Your commands. I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.” Psalm 119:9-11 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Trust the Lord to guide you.”
As a Pastor I frequently have discussions with well-meaning Christians who are faced with tough decisions and they’re not sure what to do. They love the Lord and they have a genuine desire to understand His will and to be obedient to it, but with respect to the decision they’re faced with, they’re not sure what to do and they’re afraid of making a mistake.
Such times are often confusing, frustrating, and sometimes even a little scary – especially if we’ve come to the point that a decision has to be made and we’re still not sure what to do. They last thing we want to do is to mistakenly make the wrong choice and end up far from where God wanted us to be. So what do we do? Although there are no pat answers or Biblical formulas, there are some general rules of thumb that apply.
First of all, if you’re not sure what God wants you to do next, then just keep doing the last thing you are sure He told you to do.
Second, invest the time needed to discern His will. Be patient and give Him lots of time to speak to you about it. Although God can speak to us in an infinite number of ways, the ways He most commonly speaks to us in this day is through prayer, through the Bible, through the circumstances of our lives, through the counsel of close and trusted Christian friends, and through the testimony of the church. But seeking God in that manner takes time. Just keep doing that, and keep being patient, until you have clear direction from Him.
However, and finally, if the circumstances are such that you have done due diligence in patiently seeking the Lord but you have now arrived at the point when a decision has to be made and a path has to be chosen, and yet you are still uncertain but you simply cannot delay any longer, then what? Well, you make the best decision you can and you trust the Lord to guide you step-by-step and moment-by-moment.
This is what the Psalmist was referring to in Psalm 119:9-11. He explained that he loves the Lord and His word, and to the best of his ability he is trying to be obedient (verses 9 and 11). But in the middle of that (verse 10), he is trusting in the Lord to guide his steps (I have sought you with all my heart; (so) don’t let me wander from Your commands.)
If you’ve done everything you can do to place yourself in a position before Him whereby He can speak to you and make His will clear to you; and you have patiently waited on Him; but circumstances now mandate that you do something; then you can trust the Lord to guide. Remember, He wants to be understood by you and He wants to be obeyed. It is in His own interest and in accordance with His own plan for you that you be enabled to understand and that you walk the path He has established for you. So after having done all that you can do to discern and obey, then in faith you simply make the best decision you can. You can trust Him to guide you.
God Bless,
Oak Hill Baptist Church 