Everyday we’re challenged to make Spirit-led decisions. Our lives today are simply the results of the decisions we made yesterday.
As we grow in Christ, we must grow in our ability to make Spirit-led decisions.
When we don’t rely on the Spirit to make decisions, we mostly rely on emotions or intellect. Both of these are undependable. Let’s address emotions first.
(1) Emotions are unstable and constantly changing, so it’s no wonder why our decisions don’t stick when we rely on emotions to make them. When we make emotional-based decisions, we will often regret our decisions because we will soon feel differently than we did before.
It’s common to grieve over emotional-based decisions because though we initially felt good about the decision, our emotions will change and leave us confused. If others know that you are led by emotions when making decisions, you will be easily manipulated. Though it won’t be explicitly stated, they will play to your emotions to get you to make a decision that will benefit them.
You can’t allow emotions to dictate your decisions. You must make Spirit-led decisions.
We must make an internal decision to do what’s right, no matter how we feel. We must ask ourselves:
What is God leading me to do?
As we mature in Christ, we should be determined to do what God would have us to do (no matter how we feel), understanding that He always knows what’s best for us and He always wants what’s best for us. When we begin to follow His leading on our decisions, we will make decisions that stick and we’ll begin to start making real progress in life.
The decisions that God leads us to make will allow us to live more productive, purposeful, peaceful lives.
(2) Intellect. This can be a little trickier than emotions because we think we’re so smart, and it can be difficult for us to relinquish the control that we think we have over our lives. We tend to think that we know more than we know, when truthfully we only see and know partly. We don’t know everything, only God knows everything. This is why He tells us to acknowledge Him in all of our ways, allowing Him to direct us.
“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. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”
– Proverbs 3:5-7
We need God to direct us more than we fully realize.
There are traps and snares set all around us. Often, we fall into them only because we’re not making Spirit-led decisions. Following Christ really protects us and prevents us from experiencing a lot of hurt and harm.
In order to make Sprit-led decisions, we must spend time with God. We must spend time reading His Word so that we can understand what His plan is for our lives. We must spend time in His Word and allow Him to cleanse us and renew us so that we can do what He leads us to do.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
– Romans 12:2
Don’t conform to what’s going on around you. Don’t give in to evil. Trust God, make Spirit-led decisions, and let Him handle the rest.
