For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways.
Isaiah 55:8-9
God speaks to his children in many varied ways. God has said that his ways are not our ways. If left to our reasoning, we will fail to fully walk in the full counsel of God, which leads to poor decisions.Isaiah 55:8-9
Thus, our goal is to avoid being deceived and to develop a listening ear that hears the voice of God with confidence. Our goal is to have such intimacy with God that we can walk in the full blessing of our decisions and to be assured they are not based on our own reasoning alone. This does not mean that we do not use the intellectual and logical skills that He has equipped us with.
A.W. Tozer said that the man or woman who is wholly and joyously surrendered to Christ can’t make a wrong choice. J. Oswald Sanders explains his method of receiving guidance from God for decisions: “I try to gather all the information and all the facts that are involved in a decision, and then weigh them up and pray over them in the Lord’s presence, and trust the Holy Spirit to sway my mind in the direction of God’s will. And God generally guides by presenting reasons to my mind for acting in a certain way.”
The apostle Paul said, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). God wants our choices to conform to His purpose for our lives. He wants our choices and decisions to bring Him pleasure. That is why He wants us to listen to His voice when we make decisions.
