Choices and Decisions

Keyword Study on Choices and Decisions

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Our primary choice in life is whether we choose Christ, and life, or reject him, thus choosing death.

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Again, the choice we must make is the same as the one facing Joshua and the children of Israel.

Psalms 5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.
The real issue is not whether we make the right choices in life, but whether we follow the Lord's leading instead of our own will.

Psalms 16:7 I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
The Holy Spirit is our counselor, or advisor, even when we rest in our beds in the night.

Psalms 25:4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day. 6 Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD. 8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. 10 All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. 11 For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great. 12 What man is he that feareth the LORD? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. 13 His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth. 14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
This should be prayer when the time comes for decision in our lives; that God will so instruct us in his ways and paths that our decisions would always be in accordance with his will, his way, and his Word.

Psalms 27:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. Our enemies (the world, the flesh, and the devil) are always looking for us to fail and to make mistakes.
This is a prayer that God might lead us in his paths, lest we stumble and fall on our own.

Psalms 31:3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me.

Psalms 32:8 I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.
This is a promise to those who serve God; not to show us the right decision in which we propose the choices, but to instruct and teach us the right way to go according to the choices God presents to us.

Psalms 43:3 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.

Psalms 73:24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
The ultimate goal of letting God do our decision-making is to have him receive us into his glory.

Psalms 139:1 <> O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 2 Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 3 Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 5 Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. 7 ¶ Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 13 For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
Since God knows our every need and requirement, and knows the most intimate details of our being, we need have no fear that he will direct us in making the right decisions.

Psalms 139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Any inward deceit or evil way can distort our judgment, and our ability to hear and follow God's instruction.

Psalms 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.

Proverbs 1:29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
Those who refuse divine instruction are fools.

Proverbs 3:31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.
We shouldn't base our decision-making on those in the world seem to be successful by employing violence and oppression.

Proverbs 6:20 My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: 21 Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. 22 When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. 23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
We should not direct wise counsel from our parents, so long as it is consistent with God's Word.

Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.
Integrity helps insure we make the right decisions.

Proverbs14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Relying on our own wisdom will bring nothing but disaster.

Isaiah 7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
This describes one who enjoys the benefits of God's provision, and makes right choices in response.

Isaiah 58:9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: 11 And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
The Lord responds to the prayers of the righteous, who do not oppress the poor and needy, but seek to obey him.

Isaiah 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
The opposite is true for those who reject God's counsel.

Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
God reveals his truth to those who call on him as their Lord.

Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Those who follow the advice of spiritually blind leaders are doomed to failure and disaster.

Mark 13:11 But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
When we undergo spiritual attacks, we don't have to try to decide what to say; if we trust God, the Spirit himself will provide the right answers.

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
The Holy Spirit is our teacher, counselor, and guide. Whatever the decision facing us, the only "right" decision is the one that the Spirit provides in accordance with the Father's will.

1 Corinthians 2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
To the extent we really do have the mind of Christ, or give our will over to him, we will never make the wrong decisions.

Ephesians 5:17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
That is the whole object of the decision-making process; understanding what God's will is, then being obedient to it.

Posted by gwcavend at August 31, 2008 06:23 PM