5/20/25 - Six Steps for Biblical Decision-Making

    Six Steps for Biblical Decision-Making

Observation:

The passage presents six clear, sequential steps for making biblical decisions in pursuit of God’s dream for one’s life.

It begins with three examples of biblical figures (Moses, Noah, Abraham) who received God-given dreams but had to make bold decisions to fulfill them.

The central idea is that fulfilling God’s dream requires action and decision-making guided by faith.

The Six Steps (As Observed):

1. Pray for Guidance

   • Seek God's wisdom before doing anything else.

   • Proverbs 28:26 is cited as a warning against self-reliance.

2. Get the Facts

   • Faith and fact are not in conflict.

   • Proverbs 13:16 supports acting with knowledge.

3. Ask for Advice

   • Consult others who have experience and understand your weaknesses.

   • Proverbs 24:6b emphasizes the benefit of multiple sources of good advice.

4. Calculate the Cost

   • Every decision comes with a cost (time, resources, etc.).

   • Proverbs 20:25 warns against making rash vows under pressure.

5. Prepare for Problems

   • Have faith, but also prepare for potential challenges.

   • Proverbs 22:3 is used to show that prudence involves anticipating difficulties.

6. Face Your Fears

   • Don’t wait for perfect conditions.

   • Ecclesiastes 11:4 is quoted to stress the importance of moving forward despite imperfection.

Overall Observations:

• The structure is logical and step-based.

• Each step is supported by Scripture (mostly from Proverbs).

• The tone is encouraging yet practical, emphasizing faith with action.

• The main subjects are individuals seeking to fulfill God's dream through wise, intentional choices. 

Interpretation:

1. Pray for Guidance

• Interpretation: Don’t rely on your own instincts or emotions alone. God wants to lead you—His wisdom is safer and superior to self-reliance.

• Meaning: Begin any major life decision by inviting God into the process through prayer, acknowledging His lordship.

2. Get the Facts

• Interpretation: Faith does not ignore reality. Gathering information is part of wise stewardship.

• Meaning: Knowing the facts equips you to make informed, godly choices, not blind leaps.

3. Ask for Advice

• Interpretation: Humility invites counsel. God often speaks through godly people who know you or have experience.

• Meaning: Seeking guidance is not weakness—it's wisdom, and it protects against blind spots or impulsive errors.

4. Calculate the Cost

• Interpretation: Every choice has consequences and commitments. Acting without reflection can lead to regret.

• Meaning: Counting the cost honors God and shows spiritual maturity. Don’t rush under pressure—take time to weigh what’s at stake.

5. Prepare for Problems

• Interpretation: Expecting smooth sailing is unrealistic—even godly plans face obstacles.

• Meaning: Trust in God includes preparing for resistance, opposition, or detours. Preparation doesn’t negate faith—it complements it.

6. Face Your Fears

• Interpretation: Waiting for ideal conditions will paralyze action. Fear of failure, imperfection, or risk is often the biggest obstacle.

• Meaning: You must step forward in faith, even when afraid. God often uses imperfect people in imperfect situations to fulfill His perfect will.

This framework teaches that faith and wisdom go hand-in-hand. Following God’s dream for your life is not just about inspiration, but about making intentional, Spirit-led decisions. God initiates the call, but we are responsible to respond with obedience and courage.

Personal Reflection:

This chapter alone and specifically verse 26 'He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will escape' is something that I probably face not just day-to-day, but from week-to-week and even year-to-year. A lot of the things that I have dealt with throughout life and even recently goes by the gut feeling. For instance, I'll ask myself 'what does my gut feel like doing for a particular situation'. One can even say what does the heart tell me to do. And a lot of that stems from the worldly sense where it preaches to the mass public that we should go with what our heart tells us. But something that a lot of us don't understand or refuse to acknowledge or simply ignore the fact that the heart itself can be wrong and even deceiving. A lot of the times we don't think things through, and we allow ourselves to be in those situations. I know I can be quite addicted to gambling for numerous of reasons like the thrill and excitement of winning against the house, the possibility of winning more money and leaving with positive money in my pocket rather than going home empty handed. But if wisdom has taught me anything, I shouldn't even allow myself to be caught up in the moment, or better yet, I shouldn't even partake those activities that would allow deceit and corruption of the heart. Too many times in my life where I would think I want to do things my way rather than follow what God and the Holy Spirit are both trying to tell me. If someone were to read the book on my life, would there be any verbiage that states God told me to have sex out of wedlock and that He'll be perfectly fine with it? Would God be the one to tell me to start dating a girl who is not even Christian and encourage me to start practicing secular and sinful activities throughout my relationship? Simply put that's my own heart speaking and it spoke awfully loud against God and the teachings of the Word. 

Application:

We need to be careful with our heart. The Word tells us to guard our heart. Proverbs 4:23 states "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." The heart 24/7 will find ways to play tricks on me and Satan will do everything he can to attack my most vulnerable areas. Need to make sure I stay consistent with my QT. Admittingly it's been quite difficult since the beginning of this year up until recently. I've been incredibly busy with work, with the family, with handling my relationships and even making sure everything around me stable. Things don't have to be great but I want to make sure that everything is at minimum ok before I get to bed otherwise I will stay up late to either resolve the issue(s) or I work on the issue(s) and get them awfully close to a resolved state. That would imply that I would need to be in control, but even though I already know that I'm not in control, my heart would tell me that I have to be so that I can sleep easier at night. This goes back to the 'gut feeling' on what does my gut tell me to do on whatever situation that may be. Sometimes I'll get it right and sometimes I'll get it wrong but one thing is super clear, and that's the fact that when I'm trying to do things by myself, life as a whole is ridiculously difficult which leads to restlessness, high amounts of stress, uneasiness and overall a burnt state. I'll also need to pray more and pray longer. These days I've been quite weak when it comes to prayer. It's never enough. It's something I need to get back on track, and it needs to start happening now.