by Elder Mike Chon

As we continue in our series on decision-making, we will look at some of the common mistakes that believers make in attempting to make God-honoring decisions. You may have seen sitcoms growing up where a boy is interested in a girl and is nervous asking her out to a school dance or similar event. So he decides that if the phone rings in the next minute (or some other equally arbitrary event) then it must be a “sign” for him to ask this particular girl to the dance. As silly as this scenario is, many believers make decisions in their life using similar “signs” to make decisions that have much more serious consequences then asking someone to a school dance. Before we look into how we should make God-honoring decisions, we will first examine the common mistakes that believers make in decision-making.

You may have heard someone share how God has “opened a door” for them…and so this particular decision must be from God. Where did this idea of God opening doors come from? Are “open doors” a sign from God that reveals His individual will for your life? Biblically (1 Corinthians 16:8-9; Colossians 4:3; 2 Corinthians 2:12-13) the idea of God “opening doors” refers to opportunities to be able to effectively share God’s Word. It is never used as an opportunity that God gives to the believer for you to follow so that you will fulfill God’s will in your life. For example, someone may be given an opportunity at another job or company. This new opportunity offers the individual better pay and is the next step to advance in their career. But along with this new opportunity, also comes with it greater responsibility and will require this person to work on the weekends, including Sundays. Not only that, they will have to move to another part of the country, away from family, friends and their church. If this person believes that this opportunity is an “open door” given by God for his life then it would be the right choice for this person to follow this opportunity. But is that a correct interpretation of their opportunity? Is this how believers should make decisions?

You may have also heard someone share how they were accepted to a certain school by a certain date or on a certain color stationary…so it must be a sign that it is God’s will for them to go there. This is called “putting out a fleece” which comes from Judges 6:36-40, from the life of Gideon. Basically it is anything we may interpret conditionally as a sign from God that reveals to us His will for our life. It can be as silly as the boy who determines that he will ask a particular girl to the dance if the phone rings in the next minute, or God wants me to pursue a certain career if I am accepted to this particular school, or God wants me to marry a certain girl if she wears a certain color shirt to church. Do we assume that these signs are always God’s way of showing us His will for our life? Do we believe that God works through “fleeces” like He did with Gideon in our decision-making? Do we put God to the test in order to reveal His will for us?

Both of these methods of making decisions are based on circumstances. I am not saying that circumstances do not matter at all, since they do frame the context that we live in and do play a role in our decision-making (which will be discussed further in the next article). But at the same time making decisions based only on your circumstances is not what God would desire us to do. Before we examine how we should make decisions, there is another mistake that believers make in regards to decision-making.

Have you heard someone make a decision based on the “still small voice” of God or an “impression” they had from God? How about a vision or dream? Many people are waiting for that “voice” of God or “impression” on their heart to make a decision. Someone may share how they heard the voice of God or that God impressed on their heart that they should follow this particular direction for their life. Or that God gave them a sense of peace regarding their decision. The problem with using this as your method of making decisions is that it is subjective. Where did this voice, impression, or dream come from? How do you know that it was from God? As well, is this a true biblical pattern of how God reveals His will for us today? Scripture teaches the danger of trusting only in our feelings because of the condition of our heart (Proverbs 28:26; Jeremiah 17:9). Remember Proverbs 14:12 warns us that even though we may sincerely believe something to be true, we may be sincerely wrong. We must first interpret these subjective feelings and impressions on the objective truth of God’s Word (Proverbs 30:5). Otherwise, we are mistakenly elevating our sinful hearts and minds to the same level as Scripture.

With so many decisions even in how we make our decisions, we need to return to Scripture where God reveals to us how we should be making decisions in our life. One thing is clear, God calls believers to live this life with wisdom (Ephesians 5:15-16; Colossians 4:5). This is also true in our decision-making, that we make decisions with wisdom which we will discuss further in the next article.