Do you have a spiritual ear guiding you in making correct decisions most of the time?  I have talked to some and read about others who have visions, dreams, some see signs and a few hear the voice of Jesus or the Holy Spirit.  God doesn’t tell me what is going to happen ahead of time but I have many times seen the impossible become possible supernaturally, at least I believe it so.

John 10:10 – “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”  How do I get what Christ promised: “A rich and satisfying life”?  NLT

The first thing we must understand is that God created us with a purpose.  Through His Word He promises that He will guide us throughout life to fulfill that purpose.  But we have a real problem.  We have been given a self-centered, sinful nature that wants to make decisions; we have a devil wanting to influence the choices we make and we are offered God’s Spirit to show us the path that God has prepared for us.  If we accept Christ and receive the Holy Spirit we then have one positive and two negatives that want to guide us through life, particularly in making decisions.  Our life will depend upon who we listen to: the two negatives or hone in on the positive One?  We must determine who we want to help us make decisions—the self-centered “I” or God through the Holy Spirit.

Scripture is very clear that we must live according to the example Christ set for us.  We must be obedient to God’s way.  We cannot continue living as the world lives and expect the Holy Spirit to guide us in making decisions.

It is possible that the guidance given must come from our prayers requesting direction and help.  The amount of help we may expect from the Holy Spirit will depend on how seriously we spend time in Bible study and prayer.  We must not throughout the day, continually ignore God’s Spirit if we want His help, because the two negative spirits will try to help us make every decision.  So do we make a decision and then pray that it is the correct action?  I point this out because this has been one of my problems.  Is it because of pride, the feeling I can do it on my own?  Is asking for God’s help a weakness?  Whatever it is, it comes from our self-centered nature.

Having been a high school coach, production foreman, a store manager and a buyer of equities it seems all I did was make decisions and most instantaneously.  It didn’t seem like most decisions allowed time for prayer.  If I did pray I expected an immediate response.  There are times when you have adequate time to pray and wait for an answer.  For example, choosing a spouse, buying a home or car, these decisions do not have to be made quickly.  Sometimes it may take weeks or longer for God to help you make wise decisions.  So we must be patient, keep praying and listen intently.  When there is not time we ask before making a decision: God is there some unintended consequence I should be aware of before making this decision?

There will be times when God will allow you to make the wrong decision.  There are some things we can learn only through bad experiences.  We should never ask: “God why did you allow this to happen to me?”  The correct response is: “God what did you want me to learn from this negative experience?”  Did I make the wrong decision because of the pressure I was under?  Should I have prayed more or longer?  But you said you wanted me to have a rich and satisfying life.  To get there may take learning experiences.

When bad things happen that we have no control over, such as parents losing a child in death, there may be a tendency to blame God.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)  When we were created God knew everything that would happen in our lives and you were chosen to be the parents of the one who died at an early age.  We will only know the reason when we get to heaven.  But there will be a reason. There may even be occasions when God uses sickness or other means to draw us closer to Him.  We then have time to read our Bible and certainly we increase our prayer time.  Remember the outcome of all decisions God knew the result before we even thought about it.  Is our relationship with Him such that He is our mentor or the person we come to only when we need bailing out?

Finally, how do we know when our decisions come from God?  We sense a real joy and peace in our heart.  It feels like the right choice to make.  We have sought His help, allowed Him time to answer and believe He is in it.  I complied with what I believe God wants me to do and am willing to accept the result of that decision.