by John Grant
“By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them....” Exodus 13:21
A man was sizing up God by asking, “God, how long is a million years to you?” God said, “A million years is like a second.” Then the man asked, “How much is a million dollars to you?” God said, “A million dollars is like a penny.” The man smiled and said, “Could you spare a penny?” God smiled back and said, “Sure, just wait a second.”
How are you at waiting on God? How do you determine if God is giving you the green light to move forward? Many believers make the mistake of adding up all the pluses and then concluding that God has given them the green light.
I am a lousy waiter. I don’t like to stand in line at a bank even if they are giving away free money. I want the in-box on my desk to be empty at the end of each day. I tend to be obsessive-compulsive and often shoot from the hip before evaluating all the facts. God has really been working on that and I have too.
I realized that God needs to be involved in every decision of my life, not just the spiritual ones, but everyone. And, life needs to be lived on His timetable, not mine. You may ask what goes into making a decision from the Lord.
There are several factors. It is important to do three things before you make a decision on a matter.
First, you should gather facts. Fact gathering allows you to determine all the realities of a given situation. However, this does not ultimately drive your decision, but it can put a stop to it.
Second, is the Holy Spirit guiding you in your decision? “If the Lord delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm” (Psalms 37:23). George Mueller cites that the steps are also “by the Lord.” God puts hedges around us, but many times we bull our way through the hedges under the guise of tenacity and perseverance. This too is unrighteousness.
Third, has your decision been confirmed? God has placed others around us to be used as instruments in our lives to confirm decisions and keep us from the deceit of our own heart. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”
(2 Corinthians 13:1b).
This is God’s way of keeping us within the hedge of His protection. Write your plans in pencil and give God the eraser.
You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2013/11/14/jg_waiting-on-god/
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney