June Hunt - Decision Making: Discerning the Will of God

The printed version of this eBook is the Decision Making: Discerning the Will of God book, ISBN-13: 9781596366534

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Decision Making: Discerning the Will of God
Copyright 2013 Hope For The Heart
All rights reserved.
Aspire Press, a division of Rose Publishing, LLC
PO Box 3473
Peabody, Massachusetts 01961-3473 U.S.A.
Email: info@hendricksonrose.com
www.hendricksonrose.com
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Dear friend,

Recently Ive been thinking about my own decision makingspecifically, what has caused me to make the inexcusable decisions that later I would come to regret. I wish I could blame these wrong decisions on ignorance or indigestion or a bad hair day! However, in good conscience, I cannot justify such blame-shifting! The truthful answer is this: I prioritized passion over principle.

Sometimes, if I want to better understand myself or others, I look back at the past for a clue or two. One day, I peered back and asked myself, When was the first time I willfully chose to do what I knew was wrong? The answer was immediate: My life of crime began when I was quite young. Mother had gone into a drugstore to purchase some needed items for the house. As we walked down the aisle, she stopped to look at an item on the left. At the same time, I looked to the right, and there it wasa 3 MUSKETEERS candy bar! I was now eye-level with rows of 3 MUSKETEERS candy bars! (Mind you, this was not just any candy bar. This chocolate delicacy had long been advertised as The biggest nickel candy bar!)

It was at this very moment that I chose passion over principle. Yes, of course, I knew I should not steal. I knew that principle, yet somehow, one lone candy bar seemed to slip into my right hand (and it was a perfect fit ). Quickly, through the big glass doors, I scurried outside, took a right, and then went around the cornerbecause I needed to get out of sight so as not to get caught red-handed ... or chocolate-handed! As fast as I could, I tore open the wrapper and literally crammed the candy bar into my mouth. I had to hurry to get rid of the evidence and get back inside the store as soon as possible.

With my heart pounding, I anxiously followed some big, tall people through the large glass doors leading back into the drugstore. Mother was at the counter completing her purchases. Within moments, we were headed for home. And all was well with the world. All was welluntil Mother looked over at me and said, Why do you have chocolate on your face?

Chocolate? What chocolate? I rapidly replied.

Mother pulled the car over to get a closer look. Sure enough, all the evidence had not been eliminated. Several smudges of chocolate were much too visible.

Calmly, she continued, June, where did you get the chocolate?

I mumbled something, which amounted to nothing. After further questioning, I was forced to admit my thievery. (No other explanation would make sense.)

Then humiliation upon humiliation: Mother drove me back to the store not only to pay for the stolen property, but also to confess my crime in front of the manager.

The surprised store manager asked what I had stolen. With downcast eyesand a voice barely above a whisperI eked out, I dont remember. I just didnt want to admit my extravagance: I had stolen a 3 MUSKETEERSThe biggest nickel candy bar in existence!

A moment later, Mother handed me the money to give to the manager. (She made me do it allugh!)

Obviously, that embarrassing sceneespecially the way Mother handled itmade a strong impression on me because I remember it to this day, decades later.

Now, I know someone will say, Thats nothing! Thats so insignificant. Thats just a childs decision to steal a nickel candy bar from a store, and in no more than 30 minutes, everything was resolved.

The issue is not what I stole, when I stole, where I stole, or from whom I stole. The crux of the matter is why I stole. In simplest terms, I chose to yield to temptation. I chose passion over principle.

The aftermath of prioritizing passion can be devastating when wrong decisions result in a loss of respect, a loss of reputation, or a loss of a relationship.

That is the why of this small book: to help you make decisions that you will never regretdecisions that line up with the whole counsel of God, and decisions that are in the perfect will of God. Only then can you live a life of perfect peace.

Yours in the Lords hope,

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.
(Proverbs 3:12)

DECISION MAKING

Discerning the Will of God

JUNE HUNT

• Gives practical advice and Biblical wisdom from June Hunt, a biblical counselor whose award-winning radio program Hope For The Heart is heard on more than 900 radio outlets around the world. For more than 25 years, she has counseled people, offering them hope for todays problems.
• Includes helpful insights and biblical wisdom to help you navigate your way through the big and little decisions in life by showing you how to develop spiritual discernment.
• Reveals how to overcome procrastination and the common causes for confusion, helping you decipher Gods good and perfect will for you.

DECISION MAKING

Discerning the Will of God

He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not. Through the ages, children have played this simple game of deciding whether someone loved them or not by plucking petals from a daisy one-by-one. The last petal supposedly reveals the answerbut what an unreliable way to make decisions! And just as unreliable is making choices based on changeable circumstances or the cries of a crowd. Wise decisions are made by discerning the will of God, and God delights in revealing His will to those willing to do His will. And His will is clearly revealed in His Word.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:22)

We make decisions every day. Many are of little significance; a few will change our lives forever. Do you make quick decisions by doing what comes naturally, or do you struggle with delay because of a paralysis of analysis? Many bad choices are made in life because we do not take the time to discover Gods perfect will for our lives. Be assured, God doesnt play hide-and-seek as you try to discover His will. The more intimately you draw close to the heart of God, the more clearly you will know the will of God. And as you sincerely begin to place His desires above your own desires, He will be faithful to point the way. Let this be the prayer of your heart: