The Sunday Mail
Today, I felt the need to discuss a very critical topic for someone who is at your stage of life – decisions.
Pastor Tinashe Zinyemba
The Bible says in Joel 3vs14, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”
Scientists have estimated that we make up to 35 000 decisions per day. Obviously a significant number of these we make subconsciously and some we make without applying much effort.
For instance, you do not really have to ponder on which leg will go before the other. You just step out and your body adjusts accordingly. You do not have to worry about whether you will sleep on your left or right side or on your back or stomach; you just go into bed and adjust accordingly without applying much effort.
There are, however, some very key decisions that you have to make in your life, these can affect your life permanently. The decisions that you have to watch out for include which school (university/college) to go to, the programme you will study, the carrier path you take, whether you should quit your job or not, whether to start a company or not, who you will marry, and so forth.
In Luke 1, God chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus. Even though He is God and is Almighty, Mary had to decide whether she was willing to be a part of God’s plan or not (Lk1vs38).
It was the same with Saul when he was told by God to kill all of the Amalekites and their possessions in 1 Samuel 15. He decided not to destroy everything and well, the rest is history.
There are decisions that you make that not only affect your life but affects many other lives very significantly. The choices you make today can affect your parents, friends, family members, even your unborn children. Guess what, your decisions actually affect people that you do not even know!
I would like to encourage you to take some of the choices that you make very seriously. Particularly the important ones. The decisions you make are actually determined long before the situation that requires you to make a life changing decision show up in your life.
What do I mean? Well your values and your perspective on life easily influence the decisions that you make.
In Genesis 13, we find Lot and Abraham each having to make a life changing decision. They had to separate because of the strife and arguments between their servants and also their flocks had multiplied to an unmanageable size. Lot chose the green fields that looked beautiful and well watered to the human eye (Gen 13vs11).
Abraham was left with the desert plain that looked empty. Little did they know that in a few years, Sodom and Gomorrah would be destroyed while the land of Abraham would be what we now call the Gulf States that are oil rich, including Israel.
Lot had a warped value system that made decisions based upon emotions and what was appealing to the eyes or flesh. Abraham on the other hand had a relationship with God and knew that He had a plan for him, so Abraham was not in a hurry to make a decision that would lead him to a place he did not know.
I just have three pointers that I would like to recommend to you, this is not exhaustive. I am sure there are many other credible decision making tools that can help you just add to this list.
1. Always make life decisions under advisement. Most times because you are the one in the situation you are very subjective and cannot remove emotions and your personal attachment from the situation.
Ask someone mature or who has walked the same path before. There are many people who rush into abusive relationships and very bad situations when this could have been avoided by simply asking for advice.
2. Make informed decisions. Do everything in your power to gather as much information about your situation as possible. Don’t believe everything people say. That is, do not bow to peer pressure or be emotional or impulsive.
Sometimes the best decisions for you might not be the most popular but if you do your homework well you will be the one who will come out on top.
3. Trust your inward witness (inner voice of the Holy Spirit). Some will call it instinct or a gut feeling. Most times that still small voice is God speaking to you.
Psalm 37vs23 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord . . .” You will discover as you pay attention to your values and principles that God will be leading and the simple decisions that you make will actually be leading you to your destiny.
In 1 Samuel 9, a simple decision by Saul forever changed his life when he decided to go and see Samuel to find his father’s donkeys. He thought it was a simple decision, yet it was God at work.
I heard someone say that where you are right now in your life is a sum total of the decisions that you have made. It might not apply to you in its entirety but think about it. That is all for now. Till next week. God bless.
Tinashe Zinyemba is a pastor with New Life Covenant Church. Email feedback at [email protected]
