“Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause Thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.” Joel 3:11–17
The signs long foretold in God’s word, the Bible, tell us that we are in the time of the end spoken of by the prophet Joel almost 3,000 years ago. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”
The prophet Joel, whose name combines the covenant name of God, YHWH (or Yahweh), and El (God), to mean “one to whom YHWH is God,” is, of course, speaking about decisions that will decide our eternal destiny. Every moment of every day we are faced with these decisions. This past year has shown us that many things that we have taken for granted in our life can be changed in a very short period of time. It is important that we involve God in every one of these decisions as He is the only one who knows the end from the beginning.
A decision is a choice. Often people’s decisions are analyzed to see what led them to make the choice that they did. Sometimes we analyze our own decisions after the fact. God encourages us to look at and analyze our life.
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Philippians 2:12
Let us take a look at how and why we make decisions and who we should consult. Let us pose some questions to God and allow Him to speak.
Question:
How should we make decisions?
God answers:
“Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:” 1 Peter 1:12–14
Be sober – trust in God.
God answers:
“Pray without ceasing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Ask God.
God answers:
“And ye have not His word abiding in you: for whom He hath sent, Him ye believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.” John 5:38-40
Search God’s Word.
God answers:
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20
Use God’s filter.
God answers:
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21
Truth has nothing to hide.
Question: How do we make decisions?
God answers:
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” Matthew 7:16
We are who we are. We can only be who we are.
God answers:
“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25
Personal Responsibility.
God answers:
“At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Mathew 18:1–4
We need childlike trust and faith in God.
Question: Who is responsible for the decisions that we make?
God answers:
“But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.” Ecclesiastes 11:8–10
We are responsible.
God answers:
“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.” Joshua 24:15
We must Choose.
Question: Can anyone help us to make decisions?
God answers:
“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
God will help us.
Question: How should we ask for God’s help?
God answers:
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” James 1:5–7
Remember that faith and trust of a little child?
God answers:
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
Let God answer.
Question: Should we leave decisions to chance?
God answers:
“You endeavor to reach correct decisions regarding religious duties, and to make decisions regarding business enterprises, by the tossing up of a coin, and letting the position in which it falls decide what course you shall pursue. I am instructed to say that we are not to give encouragement to any such methods. They are too common, too much like sleight-of-hand movements. They are not of the Lord, and those who depend upon them for direction will meet with failure and disappointment. Being nothing more than a matter of chance, the influence of adopting such tests regarding duty is calculated to lead the mind to depend on chance and guesswork, when all our work and plans for work should be established on the sure foundation of the Word of God.” –Selected Messages, bk. 2 (1958) Chap. 35
God answers:
“Sanctified reason must bear sway. Sanctified intellect must make decisions, inquiring into every cause that solicits attention, and then acting with the thought that God will approve. When the holy principles of the Word of God become the ruling element in a man’s life, they will lead him to act rightly, not impulsively. There is then an abiding Christ in his heart, whose bidding he obeys, and light and grace flow forth in words and deeds. This is the religion of Jesus Christ. This is the inexhaustible source of the only true species of power which the human agent, sanctified to God, may freely exercise.” –Manuscript Releases, no. 467
Power From Christ May Be Safely Exercised
John Formosa