🕊️ PRAY HERE Devotion 🕊️ How To Make Good Decisions

Scripture: Proverbs 3:5–6 KJV

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Devotion

Show me someone who rejects wisdom, always bases things on how they feel, or only does what makes sense TO THEM, and I’ll show you a person who probably makes bad decisions all the time. 😮‍💨

Whewww!

Here’s something I want you to really think about today:

OUR DECISIONS ACT AS TRANSPORTATION.

They take us somewhere.

Think about it… 🤔

If I give my boss a piece of my mind because I’m angry, that decision might drive me straight to unemployment. 😬

If I know salt causes my blood pressure to skyrocket and I keep eating a bunch of salty food anyway, that decision may drive me straight to an emergency hospital visit.

If I spend every dime I make and continuously buy things I cannot afford, those decisions may eventually drive me straight into financial trouble and debt.

Every decision has a destination.

Some decisions take us toward peace.

Some take us toward trouble.

Some take us toward stability.

Some take us toward destruction.

Some take us closer to God.

And some take us farther away from Him.

There are people sitting in jail today because of a decision.

There are people in an early grave because of decisions.

There are marriages destroyed because of decisions.

There are relationships that will never be the same because somebody made one bad decision.

We have to let this sink in.

🙏🏽

Because sometimes we treat decisions like they’re only about right now.

“I’m mad RIGHT NOW.”

“I want this RIGHT NOW.”

“This feels good RIGHT NOW.”

“This makes sense to me RIGHT NOW.”

But the question isn’t only:

“What do I want to do right now?”

Start asking:

“WHERE WILL THIS DECISION TAKE ME?”

Whewww! 😮‍💨🔥

That question alone could save somebody from a whole lot of unnecessary trouble.

Before you send the text…

Where will this take me?

Before you spend the money…

Where will this take me?

Before you enter the relationship…

Where will this take me?

Before you quit…

Where will this take me?

Before you retaliate…

Where will this take me?

Before you say yes…

Before you say no…

Before you move…

WHERE WILL THIS DECISION TAKE ME?

Now that we understand decisions from that perspective, let me give you some good news.

THERE IS A FOOLPROOF PLAN FOR DECISION-MAKING.

Let’s look at today’s Scripture together.

The first thing it says is:

1. TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart…”

There will be times in life when this is hard to do.

Why?

Because sometimes things don’t look promising.

Sometimes the numbers don’t add up.

Sometimes you can’t see how it’s going to work.

Sometimes what God is leading you toward looks completely different from what you expected.

Sometimes you’re standing there saying:

“Lord… are You SURE?” 😩😂

But that’s when trusting God carries the most weight.

It’s easy to say you trust God when everything looks good.

But can you trust Him when you cannot see the outcome?

Our hearts help steer our decisions.

That’s why Scripture doesn’t simply say:

Trust the Lord.

It says:

“WITH ALL THINE HEART.”

Not half.

Not mostly.

Not “I trust God, BUT…”

ALL.

Leaving no part of your heart determined to override God the moment His direction becomes uncomfortable.

If I’m going to trust God, I’ve got to trust that He can see what I cannot see.

And that brings us directly to the next instruction.

2. LEAN NOT TO YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING!

WHEWWWWWW! 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

THIS IS A BIG ONE!

Because our own understanding can be a TRAIN WRECK sometimes! 😂

Our understanding is often a mixture of:

What we know.

What we’ve experienced.

What we’ve been taught.

How we feel.

What hurt us.

What worked before.

What failed before.

What we’re afraid of.

And what WE think should happen.

But here’s the problem:

OUR UNDERSTANDING IS LIMITED.

Something worked for you five times before, so you automatically assume:

“This is how I need to do it again.”

But what if God is doing something different this time?

Maybe the last three jobs you received came through somebody you knew, so now you’re convinced:

“I need a connection to get this opportunity.”

But what if this time God is going to open a door where nobody knows your name?

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Your past victories can become a problem if you start trusting the method more than the God who gave you the victory.

Whewww!

And the opposite can happen too.

Maybe something has never happened for you.

So your understanding says:

“That probably won’t happen.”

You’ve never owned a business.

“I can’t do that.”

Nobody in your family has gone to college.

“That’s probably not for me.”

You’ve never seen God make a way like this before.

“I don’t see how this could possibly work.”

Hold on!

JUST BECAUSE YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT DOESN’T MEAN GOD CAN’T DO IT!

🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🔥

Your understanding says:

“I’ve never seen this before.”

God says:

“I already know where this road leads.”

Whewww!

And sometimes we just have to admit something:

WE CAN BE WRONG.

😂😮‍💨

Yes!

You can be wrong.

I can be wrong.

We don’t know everything.

Our feelings can be wrong.

Our assumptions can be wrong.

Our interpretation of a situation can be wrong.

Our prediction about what will happen next can be wrong.

BUT I KNOW SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING! 😊🙌🏽👏🏽

I TRUST IN GOD!

HALLELUJAH!

He sees the beginning.

He sees the middle.

He already sees the destination.

So if my decisions are transportation…

I want GOD giving me the directions!

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🔥🔥🔥

Because He won’t lead me wrong.

He knows what I don’t know.

He sees what I don’t see.

And He understands things I don’t understand.

Leaning not to our own understanding means we lean into the wisdom of God.

And one of the primary places we receive that wisdom is through:

HIS WORD.

No matter what decision you’re facing, God’s Word gives you principles and truth to guide you.

Should I lie to get out of this?

The Word answers that.

Should I get revenge?

The Word answers that.

Should I forgive?

The Word answers that.

Should I enter something that requires me to compromise my relationship with God?

The Word answers that.

And sometimes the Bible won’t say:

“Take Job A on 3rd Avenue instead of Job B on 7th Avenue.” 😂

That’s when you pray for wisdom, study God’s Word, consider wise counsel, pay attention to what God is showing you, and watch while you pray.

Don’t pray with your eyes closed spiritually.

🙏🏽

Pay attention.

Sometimes God answers by closing something you desperately wanted opened.

Sometimes new information comes to light.

Sometimes He uses Scripture to correct your thinking.

Sometimes wise counsel confirms something.

Sometimes circumstances reveal that what looked good initially wasn’t good for you.

Keep praying.

Keep watching.

Keep listening.

And don’t force something simply because YOU already decided what God’s answer should be.

Whewww! 😮‍💨

Then Proverbs gives us another instruction:

3. IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM.

We hear this Scripture all the time.

We quote it.

But what does that actually mean?

It means:

INVOLVE GOD IN YOUR LIFE.

Not just Sunday.

Not just emergencies.

Not just when you’ve already made a mess and now need Him to fix it. 😮‍💨

ALL THY WAYS.

Your relationships.

Your career.

Your finances.

Your family.

Your ministry.

Your plans.

Your habits.

Your routines.

YOUR DECISIONS.

Instead of deciding everything yourself and then saying:

“Lord, bless what I decided.”

Try asking BEFORE you decide:

“LORD, WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?”

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Take the decision to God.

Does this align with His Word?

Does this align with His character?

Does this require me to compromise something God has clearly commanded?

Am I doing this because God is leading me, or because I’m emotional?

Am I being driven by fear?

Pride?

Anger?

Loneliness?

Impatience?

Greed?

Pressure from other people?

ACKNOWLEDGE GOD.

Give Him access to the decision before you make it.

Because look at the promise at the end:

“AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS.”

WHEWWWW! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

There it is!

Remember where we started?

DECISIONS TAKE US SOMEWHERE.

And God says if you trust Him with your whole heart…

Stop leaning entirely on what makes sense to you…

And acknowledge Him in all your ways…

HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATHS!

He will make your path straight.

He will guide you in the way you should go.

In other words:

LET GOD HELP YOUR DECISIONS TAKE YOU TO THE RIGHT PLACES.

🙌🏽🔥

Somebody reading this devotion is facing a decision right now.

You don’t know what to do.

You’re afraid of making the wrong choice.

Maybe both options look good.

Maybe neither option looks good.

Maybe you’re tired of thinking about it.

Maybe everybody is giving you different advice and now you’re more confused than when you started. 😩😂

Go back to Proverbs 3:5–6.

TRUST GOD.

DON’T LEAN ONLY ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.

ACKNOWLEDGE HIM.

And let HIM direct you.

Don’t rush because people are rushing you.

Don’t make a permanent decision because of a temporary emotion.

Don’t choose something simply because it looks good from where you’re standing.

ASK: “WHERE WILL THIS DECISION TAKE ME?”

Then ask something even more important:

“LORD, IS THIS THE DIRECTION YOU WANT ME TO GO?”

And when He directs you…

TRUST HIM ENOUGH TO FOLLOW.

Even when you can’t see the whole road.

Because God can see the destination.

And sisters and brothers…

HE KNOWS THE WAY. 🙌🏽💙

Reflect & Respond

Think about the biggest decision you’re facing right now.

Before you make it, ask yourself:

Where will this decision take me?

Am I making this decision based primarily on how I feel?

Am I leaning only on what makes sense to me?

Have I truly acknowledged God in this decision?

Does my choice align with His Word and His character?

And finally:

IF GOD DIRECTS ME DIFFERENTLY THAN I WANT TO GO, WILL I STILL TRUST HIM?

Whewww! 🙏🏽

Prayer :

Father God, thank You that I don’t have to make life’s decisions by myself.

I need Your wisdom.

I need Your direction.

I need Your guidance.

Lord, help me trust You with all my heart, especially when I cannot see how things are going to work out.

Forgive me for the times I’ve leaned entirely on my own understanding and made decisions based only on my emotions, fears, experiences, or assumptions.

Remind me that I don’t know everything…

BUT YOU DO.

When I am confused, direct me.

When I am emotional, settle me.

When I am impatient, slow me down.

When I am afraid, strengthen my faith.

When I am leaning toward the wrong decision, redirect me.

Help me acknowledge You in every area of my life; not only when I’m in trouble.

Lord, concerning the decisions that are before me right now, make Your direction clear. Give me wisdom through Your Word, godly counsel, prayer, and whatever means You choose to use.

Close doors that would take me away from Your will.

Give me courage to walk through the doors You open.

And when You show me the way…

HELP ME TRUST YOU ENOUGH TO FOLLOW.

I don’t want my decisions taking me places You never intended for me to go.

Direct my path, Lord.

I trust You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen. 🙏🏽🔥💙