11.30.2011

Decisions, Decisions



Don't you sometimes wish that you could ask God a question and receive an immediate answer? Like, "God, what should we have for dinner?" and immediately you get a thunderous reply with a well-planned, healthy, money-saving meal the whole family will love! Ok, maybe not...



I think we all have a hard time "waiting on the Lord" or "just praying about it" or even trying to make decisions on our own (and that just doesn't work). I mean, really, when does ANYONE give you a straight answer anymore? It takes me an hour to get an answer out of my husband about a detail as minute as what time he'll be home...It usually goes something like this:

Me: "Hey, what time will you be home?"
Him: "Well, I have to finish a few things here and then I have to wrap up a few things there."
Me: "Ok" (as if the first time I asked wasn't clear enough)"What time will you be home?"
Him: "I guess when I'm done with all that."
Me: (really?!) "Ok, well, how long until all that's done?"
Him: "I don't know a little while longer so I'll be leaving here soon."
Me: (defeated) "ok"



The moral of the story is - everyone wants an immediate answer all the time. Should I accept this position? Should I sell my house? Should I go back to school? Should I buy a cat? Should I...should I...should I...? And, in most of these cases, we want a straight "yes" or "no" answer. But as I've recently learned in starting a 7-day study on "Decisions" (with my awesome Bible app), the decision-making process is important in the growth of the personal relationship between us and Christ. So, on a serious note, I'm realizing I don't have decision-making issues. I can tell people what to do all day long (and most of you who work close with me know this to be true)! What I'm learning is that when we allow God to be a part of our decision-making process and when we submit to His will over our own, we are extending Him our trust and submitting ourselves to whatever HE decides, which is always going to be the best for us (scratch that) - the best for His glory. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." 

So, after I read this, I decided to do things a bit differently to try and make this short passage sink in. I flipped it entirely into a series of questions pointed directly at me...

"Crystal, do you trust in the Lord with all your heart? Crystal, do you lean on your own understanding or the way the Almighty understands it? Crystal, are you fully submitting yourself to His will and trusting that He works all things to the good of your life? And, Crystal, do you believe He's mighty enough to send you in the right direction?"

Whoa - so this was a wake up call for me - at least in how I viewed God when it came to making decisions in my life - big or small. Before reading this, my mindset was "well, I know what I think I want to do but I need God to affirm it - yes, let me read some scripture, twist it into something that affirms what I already feel and call it a Godly decision." (uh-uh) God already has a path for me to take. God already knows His will for creating me - His purpose for my existence. So, all I have to do is submit to it and trust Him.

Is it easy? Nope. Is the answer going to pop out of thin air when I want it to? Nope. Will planning family meals become any easier? Probably never. Will I ever really know what time my husband is coming home? I don't know. But I do know if I allow Christ to be the center of my decision-making, at least I know that I'll always be moving in the right direction.

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I am a local Charlestonian, born and raised in good 'ol South Carolina. I have only been to other surrounding states within a days drive since I refuse to fly in an airplane - so let's see - that includes NC, GA, FL, and I think I may have crossed the border into VA at some point. I've been to the Bahamas 3 times (since you can get there by cruise ship) but one day I hope to visit Mexico. After my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the second love of my life is my high school sweetheart, Matt. We were married at ages 19 and 21 (I'm the younger one) and in the past 8 years have acquired two amazing kids - Sammy and Maddie. We have a fairly new member of the family, Casey, who is a black lab/shepherd/pit bull mix and is very lazy. We "McCall's" have a family motto: "McCall's never give up" (for some reason this has stuck with us all). We all have a passion for music and treasure our family time. Every moment is a gift...

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