In the Valley of Decision ~ the Right Stuff

I will lift up my eyes to the hills--
From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.  Psalm 121:1-2

Do you have the right stuff? No, I don't mean to be an astronaut...I mean the right stuff to make decisions for your life. How do you make decisions? Do you go on feelings or "think so's" or your mood to make choices--decisions that can change the course of your life? Are your decisions based only on what you want and not so much on what you really need? I want you to consider a way to make decisions which will make you happier, and move you closer to pleasing God at the same time. And that IS what you want, isn't it? I thought so! Now let's look at a few ways we can know our decisions are based on the right stuff.

Well, you knew that there was good advice in the Psalms, didn't you? There is a most beautiful psalm which tells us exactly how to have the right stuff, and that is Psalm 1:1-6. It says:

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish."

                                                                                   

So the very first thing you need to put on your list is to study the word of God often--like so many people who have commited to  reading through the Bible in a year. It's so valuable to expose your heart and mind to God's word every day. At this point in our history, I'd say that it's vital. The Psalm says to meditate day and night...which really means to keep its admonitions in your head and heart all the time.

                                  
God gave us His word so that we don't have to wonder what he wants us to do, or how we can please Him. He gave us a way to make sure our decisions--even the hard ones--would be the right ones. Sometimes our decisions seem impossible to make, impossible to see through to the other side, but as humans, we just do the best we can with the information we have. Not easy all the time, I know. And for some of you, never easy. But it will get better if you depend on God's help. You may learn to think like David, who says in Psalm 119:97: "Oh, how I love Your Law! It is my meditation all the day."

The reason David loved the law of God was that it was a light for him, a man who went from being a shepherd to being a king. He expresses his appreciation for God's law  in verse 105: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. And again in verse 130: "The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." So what can we learn from David's words? We learn that we too can be shown the right way through the light of God's word.

And to those who have neglected their duty through the years, Hebrews 5:12-14 says: "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." We can only be discerning when we have a way to choose between right and wrong, good and evil, or best versus poor. And there has to be a basis for discernment, and that basis is the word of God.

Romans 1 tells us that the just live by faith--something that's impossible to do without knowing the gospel of Christ! And why is that? Because a way that seems right to us may be all wrong. Proverbs 16:25 says: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." Whoa! The end is death?! I don't like that at all, do you? It's all a big package that we accept or reject.  

But if you've been keeping up, you'll remember the whole duty of man. In Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, we are told by Solomon, who learned this lesson the hard way, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." Now I don't know about you, but that sounds like a serious statement made by the wisest king to ever live.

And why is that important for us to hear and understand and do? Because in 2 Corinthians 5:10, the apostle Paul says: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." That means you and me and everyone else that lives--or has ever lived--on the face of the earth. Now I think that gives all of us something to chew on for a while. 

Have a great week and may you have the wisdom to seek truth and light.

Blessings...Mimi