Make Up Your Mind

The inability to make definitive choices is ubiquitous – common to mankind. People find it difficult to make choices due to a variety of factors: little self-confidence, having had someone do it for them all their lives, a lack of motivation, fear that their choices will be wrong, etc.  

There are reasons and there are excuses. 

Aside from typical human struggles that hamper decision making the Christian is prone to stressing over decisions not being God’s will. At first glance, this appears to be a laudable, even godly, motivation – except that it isn’t. The problem is it is largely the opposite of the wisdom of God’s word, and the experience of mature believers. 

Of course, it is wise and right to commit what we are thinking of doing to God, asking for his guidance. Scripture tells us to commit our way to the Lord, trusting in him as he will act - Psalm 37.5 (NRSV) If you notice it says to commit your way – your actions, plans, determinations – to God, and not merely your thoughts. In other words, pray and act, as it is in acting that prayer is answered.  The life of faith isn’t a life of passivity, nor a life attempting to make God responsible for our actions or lack of them.  

There are things we don’t need to pray about, that would have immoral or unethical implications – the word of God has already spoken to us about such things. Prayer isn’t required, obedience and mortification of the flesh are. 

As an example, before Joshua conquered the promised land, he was told twice by the Lord to familiarise himself with the scriptures that he’d revealed to Moses. Although Joshua had the big plan, as we do - go into all the world and make disciples – he still had a myriad of decisions to make that weren’t going to be hand-fed to him by the Lord. He needed to make choices, underpinned by the commands and tenor of scripture.  

Joshua had to be strong and courageous, which he would be if he acted according to all the law Moses had given them. If this was the case, he would be successful wherever he went -  meaning, he had to make a lot of decisions and whatever he decided would work. If he read scripture, soaking his very life into God’s word, and failed to act, to do, then no amount of prayer would help him.  But if he listened to scripture and acted (keeping it in mind) he would succeed in whatever/wherever his choices took him.  

This was repeated when he was told if he made scripture his regular source of food, his daily diet, that the Lord his God would be with him wherever he went. Therefore, whatever he decided, whatever he determined, wherever he made up his mind to go and what to do, God was there – in the acting. 

I conclude with this: we, as Joshua, are to choose and act in the light of scripture. God doesn’t do our choosing for us; meditate on scripture and make up your mind.