Making Decisions and Living by God's Promises
It’s been said that your life will be summed up by the decisions and choices you make. In what way do you make life altering plans and major decisions?
Believing that there was mutual admiration and boasting in what God was doing in their lives, Paul had planned to make a couple of visits to Corinth during his missionary travels:
It appears that there were some in the church who were accusing Paul of not following through with his promises—of not being a man of his word—of saying one thing, but doing something else.
Although Paul wrote in verse 14 that the basis of his planned visit was the surety of their mutual sense of the grace of God at work in their lives, he never “promised†he would visit them. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 16:7, where he wrote about visiting them, he added the phrase “if the Lord permits.†And in the sovereignty of God, things didn’t turn out as he had planned.
It’s important to note that although Paul occasionally heard directly from God in his missionary travels, he didn’t always make plans based on an audible voice or vision from God. He knew generally what God wanted him to do as an apostle and he made plans accordingly. But he was also ready to alter his plans when God made it clear to him that he should. Moreover, he trusted God’s promises to fulfill them:
Paul made decisions and lived his life in the power of God’s promises to him. He didn’t set out to do missionary work because he knew how everything was going to work out. Paul set out to do ministry work not based on God’s detailed explanations to him, but based on God’s divine promises to him. We must do likewise. We must set out to work for God trusting that where He guides, He will provide.
Paul lived a life of integrity in view of God’s promises because, as he wrote, the Son of God, who he proclaimed, was not yes and no (v.19). That is, Jesus does not waver—He is not indecisive—everything He promises, He will do.
John Piper said it beautifully:
The apostle Paul was a man of his word not because he was secure in his own ability. Rather, he was secure in the promises of God, which were secure in Jesus and sufficient to meet all his needs. Therefore, he uttered his Amen to all that God is for Him in Jesus. He said yes to Jesus always being God’s yes for him for God’s glory. Although our plans will sometimes fail, God’s plans for us are always good and will never fail.
Are you secure in Jesus? Have you uttered your Amen to God—have you said yes to all of God’s promises being totally sufficient to meet all your needs? As John Piper also said:
Why are all of God’s promises YES in Christ? Our sins separated us from God but Jesus died and rose again so that all who trust Him as Savior would not only be forgiven of their sin—but have access to His throne of grace where we can claim the promises of God to fulfill His good will for our lives. (Hebrew 4:16)
I’m afraid that when God says to His children, “Wait, I got something better for you,†too often their reply is, “No, I'll settle for what I can get now.â€
Christian, don’t settle. Say yes to Jesus and His best for your life. Wait for the Lord!
Do you know that God’s promises to us are closely related to His good will and ultimate plans for us, namely to be conformed to the image of His son (Romans 8:28)? In other words, God’s promises and will for us go hand and hand.
Are the decisions and plans that you make shaped and controlled by your Yes and Amen to the sure promises and good plans of God? My friend and mentor Daniel Henderson often says, “The power of our NO is in a stronger YES." Life is filled with many good opportunities and options. To experience God’s best and be at our best in service to God, we can’t say yes to everything.
How do we decide what to do and not get stuck in indecision? Recently I read some insightful facts about the etymology of the word “decide†which can be helpful in making major life decisions. The word decide contains "-cide." As Lance Odegard pointed out in his newsletter:
God’s promises are secure for us in Christ. He is God’s yes for us. God’s promises are not only sufficient in all things but sealed by God through the Spirit.
O, let us say yes afresh to all of God’s promises—to all that God is calling us to do and be in Him and through Him by the power of the Spirit and for the greater fame of Jesus. And all of God’s people said, Yes and Amen.
In His service,
Pastor Marco
Believing that there was mutual admiration and boasting in what God was doing in their lives, Paul had planned to make a couple of visits to Corinth during his missionary travels:
“Because I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a second experience of grace. I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes†and “No, no†at the same time?†2 Corinthians 1:15-17
It appears that there were some in the church who were accusing Paul of not following through with his promises—of not being a man of his word—of saying one thing, but doing something else.
Although Paul wrote in verse 14 that the basis of his planned visit was the surety of their mutual sense of the grace of God at work in their lives, he never “promised†he would visit them. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 16:7, where he wrote about visiting them, he added the phrase “if the Lord permits.†And in the sovereignty of God, things didn’t turn out as he had planned.
It’s important to note that although Paul occasionally heard directly from God in his missionary travels, he didn’t always make plans based on an audible voice or vision from God. He knew generally what God wanted him to do as an apostle and he made plans accordingly. But he was also ready to alter his plans when God made it clear to him that he should. Moreover, he trusted God’s promises to fulfill them:
"As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.†2 Corinthians 1:18-20
Paul made decisions and lived his life in the power of God’s promises to him. He didn’t set out to do missionary work because he knew how everything was going to work out. Paul set out to do ministry work not based on God’s detailed explanations to him, but based on God’s divine promises to him. We must do likewise. We must set out to work for God trusting that where He guides, He will provide.
Paul lived a life of integrity in view of God’s promises because, as he wrote, the Son of God, who he proclaimed, was not yes and no (v.19). That is, Jesus does not waver—He is not indecisive—everything He promises, He will do.
John Piper said it beautifully:
“All the promises of God for the good of his people focus in Christ. He confirms them and secures them and, as it were, purchases them for all who belong to him—for all who believe (Galatians 3:22). Every sinner who comes to God in Christ, with all his needs, finds God coming to him in Christ, with all his promises. When a sinful person meets the holy God IN CHRIST, what he hears is YES. Do you love me? YES. Will you forgive me? YES. Will you accept me? YES. YES. Will you help me change? YES. Will you give me power to serve you? YES. Will you keep me? YES. Will you show me your glory? YES. All the promises of God—all the blessings of God in the heavenly places—are YES in Christ Jesus. Jesus is God's decisive YES to all who believe.â€
The apostle Paul was a man of his word not because he was secure in his own ability. Rather, he was secure in the promises of God, which were secure in Jesus and sufficient to meet all his needs. Therefore, he uttered his Amen to all that God is for Him in Jesus. He said yes to Jesus always being God’s yes for him for God’s glory. Although our plans will sometimes fail, God’s plans for us are always good and will never fail.
Are you secure in Jesus? Have you uttered your Amen to God—have you said yes to all of God’s promises being totally sufficient to meet all your needs? As John Piper also said:
“Is there any of God's YES to you to which you are saying NO or MAYBE or NOT NOW? I plead with you to let your consecration to God be this: "O Lord, I promise that by your grace this will be the decade of my YES to you. I consecrate myself to forsake the NO and the MAYBE and the NOT NOW of my unbelief. And I say YES to everything in your YES to me.â€
Why are all of God’s promises YES in Christ? Our sins separated us from God but Jesus died and rose again so that all who trust Him as Savior would not only be forgiven of their sin—but have access to His throne of grace where we can claim the promises of God to fulfill His good will for our lives. (Hebrew 4:16)
I’m afraid that when God says to His children, “Wait, I got something better for you,†too often their reply is, “No, I'll settle for what I can get now.â€
Christian, don’t settle. Say yes to Jesus and His best for your life. Wait for the Lord!
Do you know that God’s promises to us are closely related to His good will and ultimate plans for us, namely to be conformed to the image of His son (Romans 8:28)? In other words, God’s promises and will for us go hand and hand.
Are the decisions and plans that you make shaped and controlled by your Yes and Amen to the sure promises and good plans of God? My friend and mentor Daniel Henderson often says, “The power of our NO is in a stronger YES." Life is filled with many good opportunities and options. To experience God’s best and be at our best in service to God, we can’t say yes to everything.
How do we decide what to do and not get stuck in indecision? Recently I read some insightful facts about the etymology of the word “decide†which can be helpful in making major life decisions. The word decide contains "-cide." As Lance Odegard pointed out in his newsletter:
“The origin of -cide borrows from the latin, meaning ‘the act of killing’. The intensity of this is seen in other words, like:
Homicide.
Insecticide.
Genocide.
Suicide.
To de-cide is an act of killing. To make a decision requires making a death. A dying to what might have been, a dying to keeping your options open, a dying to a thousand possibilities in order to choose one. No wonder decisions are so hard. Whenever we’re in the presence of a decision, we’re in the presence of death.
It’s important to name what you’re actually doing inside a decision. Especially if we’re talking about those hard decisions, tough choices, and complicated dilemmas.
When you make a decision…
- You are administering an ending for the hope of a new beginning.
- You are accepting the reality of being cut off from other paths in order to pursue a single path.
- You are laying shears to future potentialities or even present, full grown realities.
- You are pruning off yesterday’s growth, so that tomorrow’s energy might be directed from making more leaves toward making more fruit.
- You are exercising the incisive power of choice, and in it, finding the kinds of futures that clear commitments can open.
- You are reckoning with the symbiotic connection between your yes and your no—you are wielding life and death.
None of this makes decision-making any easier, of course. But it does help us see what’s actually going on. It helps us see why de-ciding hurts. And it helps us see the potential found in learning to let go.â€
What gives us power to say no when saying no hurts? Again, the power of our NO is in a stronger YES. We must say YES to what we know are divine priorities, like being devoted to our marriages, fellowship with God’s people, prayer, and the word of God (Acts 2:42-47). We certainly must never settle for anything that is outside of God’s revealed will for our lives. Saying no might be hard sometimes and may involve dying to our selfish desires, but we can trust that God’s promises, which find their yes in Jesus, are always far better.
God’s promises are secure for us in Christ. He is God’s yes for us. God’s promises are not only sufficient in all things but sealed by God through the Spirit.
O, let us say yes afresh to all of God’s promises—to all that God is calling us to do and be in Him and through Him by the power of the Spirit and for the greater fame of Jesus. And all of God’s people said, Yes and Amen.
In His service,
Pastor Marco