What’s Your Decision?

Decisions! We are all required to make decisions every day of our lives. It is not based on who you are or what you do because even the smallest child has decisions to make. Adults decide where they live and who they interact with; younger children decide where and with whom they will play. One year olds decide if they would respond when you call them or continue going their way. When it comes to what we do; we have decisions to make.

There was a time that the people of God made a decision. They began to look at the nations around them and wished for what they had; these nations had kings. One day, the elders approached Samuel and said, “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” (1 Samuel 8:5 NLT) This request displeased the prophet Samuel and went to God to know what he should do. “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer.” (verse 8)

How do you make the big decisions in your life? Sometimes we look at the issues we face and make decisions based on our own thinking. The elders made their decision because Samuel’s sons were not honorable men. But God was aware of their character and would have resolved the issue. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” The elders used their own understanding and made their decision without any input from God.

As we go about tending to our lives, we need to be mindful about how we make decisions. When the people came to Samuel, he went to God with the problem. He did not make the decision on his own. Many of these kings sinned and disobeyed God. The elders must have felt that they had no other choice. High stakes decisions definitely need directions from God.