{"id":1297,"date":"2011-03-18T21:43:59","date_gmt":"2011-03-19T02:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/?p=1297"},"modified":"2026-09-10T17:52:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T21:52:52","slug":"decision-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/2011\/03\/decision-making\/","title":{"rendered":"DECISION MAKING"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2802\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/th-2.jpg\" alt=\"th\" width=\"455\" height=\"638\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;\"><strong>Knowing and Doing the Will of God <\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;\"><strong>Dr. Lewis W. Gregory<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u00a0 \u00a0<strong> \u00a0Ever since Adam and Eve\u2019s pivotal decision<\/strong> in the Garden of Eden, which resulted in their fall, people have faced the challenges of decision-making. It should be evident from the garden experience that humans are incapable of making the right decisions. And yet, making the right decisions is the essential precursor to right living. So, what\u2019s a person to do? At least 2 things are necessary for making the right decisions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u00a0 \u00a0<strong> First, you need a valid set of GUIDELINES.<\/strong> This should form the basis of all decision-making. The best set of guidelines is the Holy Bible. Through it, God reveals the quality of life He intends for us and how we are to live. The Holy Bible is God\u2019s standard by which we should conduct our lives. But such profound guidelines require a guide.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u00a0 \u00a0<strong> Thus, a GUIDE is the second necessity for right decision-making.<\/strong> Therefore, God graciously sent the Holy Spirit to all who would accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When we do, we are born of the Spirit (John 3:5-7). The Holy Spirit indwells us in order to lead us and guide us. \u201cHe will guide you into all truth\u201d (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit acts as our instructor. We are blessed with a twenty-four-hour tutor! \u201cHe shall teach you all things\u201d (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit not only instructs us, but also empowers us to accomplish the task. \u201cBut you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you\u201d (Acts 1:8). Therefore, the Holy Spirit will instruct, guide, and empower you to do God\u2019s will!<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u00a0 \u00a0 <strong>So, how should you proceed<\/strong> when faced with difficult decisions? If you are a Christian, you will want to make the right decisions. This is indicative of your new nature in Christ. However, even though you sincerely want to do right, you may still find yourself in a quandary. Therefore, the following prerequisites to decision-making should be taken into prayerful consideration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>PREREQUISITES to DECISION MAKING<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><b>Give up<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 In order to go God\u2019s way, you must first give up your carnal way of thinking and cease from all your fleshly efforts. \u201cFor to be carnally minded is death\u201d (Romans 8:6). \u201cFor he that has entered into His rest, has also ceased from his own works\u201d (Hebrews 4:10).<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><b>Yield<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Be sure that you are completely yielded to the Lordship of Christ. \u201cYield yourselves unto God\u201d (Romans 6:13). The Lord is the decision maker! It\u2019s His decision. The Holy Spirit will lead you in making the right decisions.<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><b>Filled<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Allow the Holy Spirit to so control your life that He can accomplish His purposes through you. \u201cBe filled with the Spirit\u201d (Ephesians 5:18).<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><b>Know the facts<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Gather all the pertinent facts in order to know what is required of you. Then consider the consequences. \u201cCount the cost\u201d (Luke 14:28).<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><b>Peace of God<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Trust the Lord to give you an inner peace about the right decision. \u201cLet the peace of God rule in you\u201d (Colossians 3:15).<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><b>Confirmation, God\u2019s Word<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Ask the Lord to confirm His will by giving you a specific verse of Scripture. \u201cLet the Word of Christ dwell in you richly\u201d (Colossians 3:16).<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><b>Confirmation, godly counsel<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Seek godly counsel for an additional confirmation. \u201cIn a multitude of counselors there is safety\u201d (Proverbs 11:14).<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><b>Act decisively<\/b>\u00a0\u2013 Exercise faith by stepping out boldly with the confidence that the Lord will bring it to pass. The Lord will make a way. The Lord will provide. \u201cHe\u2026 will perform it\u201d (Philippians 1:6).<\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><b>Wait expectantly<\/b> \u2013 After you have entrusted your concerns to the Lord and obeyed the Lord by taking the practical action steps, it is necessary to wait patiently upon the Lord. \u201cYou have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise\u201d (Hebrews 10:36). Patience involves giving God time to work in His time and in His way. God tells us in Habakkuk 2:3 that even though the vision tarries, wait for it, because it will surely come to pass!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u00a0 \u00a0 <strong>\u00a0God knows exactly what you need.<\/strong> He will lead you to make the right decisions. He promises to order your steps if you will let Him (Psalm 37:23). I pray that as you seek His guidance, you will hear Him say, \u201cThis is the way; walk in it.\u201d And with His guidance, you will make the right decisions!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"text-align: center;\">Dr. Lewis Gregory \u00a9 1990<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>LISTEN<\/strong> to the song on <strong>DECISION MAKING<\/strong> to find out.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a onclick=\"javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('\/outgoing\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/2026\/09\/decision-making-2\/');\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/2026\/09\/decision-making-2\/\">https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/2026\/09\/decision-making-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/201879-SMI-logo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"91\" height=\"73\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Knowing and Doing the Will of God Dr. Lewis W. Gregory &nbsp; \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ever since Adam and Eve\u2019s pivotal decision in the Garden of Eden, which resulted in their fall, people have faced the challenges of decision-making. It should be evident from the garden experience that humans are incapable of making the right decisions. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,43,42,44,5,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-living","category-foundational","category-leadership","category-marriage-family","category-teachings","category-written-articles"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1297"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5165,"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1297\/revisions\/5165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sourceministries.net\/go\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}