by Leon

Every day we are faced with life decisions in some way. Sometimes they are decisions that can affect major aspects of our life. Other times, they can be decisions that only affect us in a minor way. Regardless of the impact our choices may have on a particular day, every day we face decisions.

I’ve learned that every decision, even something that I may consider insignificant, can have a large impact on my life. For that reason, I’ve begun to include asking God for daily wisdom in prayer. You might be surprised how much the little things can affect our lives. What we consider ‘little’ may not be so little if we had the foresight of God to see the road ahead of us.

We can pray for wisdom, but we can also seek it. We are gifted with inherent wisdom once the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. But, the world and its goings and comings can sometimes blind us to His signals and deafen us to His voice. Pray for wisdom, but also seek it by reading His word. His word will often clear our minds of the things from the world that occupy our thoughts.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” – Psalm 119:105

An example in life I can give is the times I decided to trust or hang around someone who didn’t know God. They were far from God and it was clear by their deeds. The Bible often speaks of being careful who you trust. Also, who you spend time with, especially if they do not regard God. I’ve found myself going against the wisdom of God by placing faith in the wrong people or spending too much time with them. Sometimes I would justify it by thinking “I’ll make sure it’s not a considerable amount of trust or time.” But when the Bible warns us, we should listen.

Several years ago I had a friend that regarded God in no way. In fact, he was an agnostic if I recall correctly. Despite this, we connected well, but something always bothered me. He would treat others very poorly and justify it by saying they were foolish. He wasn’t wrong, a lot of the people he would get angry with were being foolish. Even so, I felt uneasy. That was the Holy Spirit warning me.

At the time I wasn’t reading the word or regarding God as much as I should have been. So you could say that I was ‘lacking’ in the wisdom department. In fact, even my prayer life was not going well. Eventually, this friend started getting bitter towards me. After a while, he was treating me as he did everyone else. Before long we stopped talking and I was hurt that I lost who I thought was a good friend. If I had been seeking the wisdom of God I would have been guarded against this.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” – Proverbs 4:23

Another example I can give is a time when I trusted someone who didn’t regard God much the same way the other friend did. I told them something personal about me. At the time I considered this act a minor action, but it soon resulted in him telling others without permission. Both times if I had been in the word of God or praying for His wisdom, I could have avoided hurt and trouble.

A Biblical example I can give is that of Saul. He was crowned king over Israel and was about to go to battle with his army. However, they would never go into battle without first having the prophet make a sacrifice to God. The prophet Samuel was days late and the army was growing weary. The enemy must have been closing in on them too. Saul decided rather than waiting for the prophet, he himself would make the sacrifice. He went ahead of God and disregarded the wisdom of God. The consequences would cost him literally everything.

We need to be prepared to face everyday decisions, and no matter how minor those decisions may seem we require wisdom.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6