FREE AGENTS

Have you ever been faced with important decisions and needed explicit direction,
only to feel as if God was in silent mode?—Right when you would most like Him to
give a precise answer? I know I have, and during those times, it’s been a spiritual
struggle. Once, while struggling with a decision, I so much wanted God to make the
path clear, but He, in His wisdom, chose not to give a direct answer. Instead, I
needed to forge ahead to do the pick-and-shovel work of investigating options,
seeking godly counsel, weighing the open doors of opportunity before me, praying
desperately, and most of all, committing my ways to Him. I had to trust that He would
direct my path in the manner of His choosing.

As Christians who want to glorify God through our lives, we want to learn to make
decisions and choices based on godly principles. Considering options, weighing
advantages and disadvantages, using our God-given wisdom, and measuring
situations by God’s Word are all part of loving God with all our minds, hearts, and
souls, in obedience to the first and greatest commandment.

Part of the stress and turmoil we often face in times of decision-making is the fear of
failure, the fear of missing God’s will, or the fear of making a decision that will
unforeseeably have a negative impact on ourselves or others. When it comes to
those important decisions that will define the course of our future, or at least our
immediate future, we learn through experience that sometimes, despite our best
intentions and desires, our decisions lead to unexpected negative outcomes and
consequences that we have to live with.

Because God has designed us as agents with free will, we have the capability of
making independent choices, and by the same token, we are personally responsible
for our decisions and their outcomes, and we must take responsibility for how things
play out, even if there are negative repercussions. We also have to trust that God has
promised to work everything together for the good of those who love Him, no matter
how things seem to turn out initially. He can even take our mistakes and the times
when we seem to have messed up our decision-making coordinates, and redirect our
course in ways that will be beneficial and lead us to His ultimate destination.

Unexpected bends in the road and unintended outcomes are part of life, no matter
how wise our decisions. We see throughout the Bible how often things turned out
differently than people expected or planned. When Moses set out for the Promised
Land, he probably didn’t foresee wandering in the desert for 40 years. And yet, he
didn’t waver or lose sight of the final destination; he kept pressing forward despite the
obstacles.

Even when we make right decisions, there is no guarantee of smooth sailing for the
duration of the journey. We will often continue to face pitfalls or setbacks along the
way, and these are part of the human experience and often serve to strengthen our
faith walk. As our heavenly Father, God knows that learning to make decisions and
take responsibility for their outcome—and all the lessons we learn on that journey—
are part of our spiritual growth and development.

As we commit our ways to Him and seek to please Him and do those things that are
pleasing in His sight, we can have confidence in our relationship with Him; we can
know that He will be present with us through all the decisions, small and great, that
face us throughout our lives.

“May the God of peace … equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he
produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing
to him.”