Philippians 1:9-10 NIV-- 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ
When Paul was writing from prison to the church of Philippians, he closed with a prayer that emphasized knowledge and discernment. Both are important when making decisions, especially decisions aligned with God's will and purpose for our lives. Oftentimes, when faced with a decision the first image that comes to mind is the angel on the right side of one's shoulder and the devil with a pitchfork on the other. Although that is the comical representation we generally think of when we have conflicting thoughts, but I believe we can delve a deep further.
When I meditate and pray to God I like to be alone and free from distractions. I also pray for discernment to know what I perceive is directly from God. I believe there are three elements that can effect our decision-making. Humans are intellectual beings and God blesses us with the opportunity to make sound choices and decisions. When seeking a decision from God it is best to know if our direction comes from God, the devil, or our flesh.
Now, when considering the flesh and making decisions you don't actually think of your physical body; the flesh is the implication of our carnal wants and worldly desires. Galatians 5:16-17 is the perfect paradigm that explains the battle we have between what we want and what the Spirit wants for us. Ultimately, I have learned that God's direction always aligns with His Word, and it sometimes comes with a confirmation. Thoughts that did not come from God, I found were usually rushed and they conflict with my spiritual journey. For example, when I wanted to write my book and start my blog I felt an urge to write and I knew that my writing would bring glory to God. I felt that was a God led decision.
Once I made that step I was faced with so many distracting thoughts and irrelevant opportunities. During this time I had an impulse to start a t-shirt business, and begin traveling. Looking back, I interpret these events as distracting thoughts sent from the enemy and/or desires of my flesh to keep me off track from what God obediently wanted me to do. In conclusion, decisions sent from God would give Him glory, and also bless others. T- shirts and traveling only would have benefited me for the moment. I'm not saying I should not have traveled or started my business, but at the time God's plans and making the right decisions was the right choice.
There are so many factors conflicting with the decisions we make that God has for our lives. Through prayer, and mediation God will bless each and every one of us with the discernment and wisdom we need when facing difficult tasks.
(Scriptures for reference: Romans 12:2 ~ James 1:5)
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