"I am so confused! I have so many decisions to make and I feel paralyzed which way to go!" I have struggled with this before, and hear this from women every day.
In this time, there are many different voices and opinions pulling us in numerous directions--confusing the heart, mind, and soul. Many young women are listening to feminist voices, to popular culture, to contemporary thought. They do not know that all choices, especially made after seeking the counsel of the wrong voices, will have great consequences in their lives.
When we don't own our lives, something or someone else will. Whether we realize it or not, we are always choosing to serve and worship something. Many in today's culture unwittingly think that personal fulfillment comes from getting the material things they think they need to have; experiences will give them a surge of adventure and excitement; romance will make them feel loved. Dreaming of circumstances in which you might escape the irritations or depressing circumstances of your current situation is a false hope. Anything else substituted for God, His ways, His wisdom will disappoint and lead you further down a road of foolishness.
What popular cultural voices do not tell us is that in the long haul, no one and no thing can make us happy or fulfilled apart from the love, grace, instruction, truth and forgiveness of God. So many decisions made for short-term gain have devastating ramifications and leave ugly scars in the long run.
Often, we shake our fist and wonder why our circumstances are so terrible instead of seeing that if we make foolish or selfish choices, we will end up with devastating consequences.
God has designed you as a woman with potentila influence. Your choices matter and have weight. One of my dear friends always says, "God will forgive you, wisdom won't." While we are blessed by relationship with a loving, gracious, merciful God, each step we take is leading in a direction, and the wrong path will end with a negative outcome.
Three principles, though, can lead us to make decisions that will lead us in paths of blessing.
1. Walk the pathways of your life with wise people, don't engage yourself with those who have foolish values.
Proverbs says, "He who walks with the wise will be wise, a companion of fools suffers harm." Find wise people to learn from, to model, or read books by those whose lives reflect His ways and His light. Seek out wise people
2. Study, memorize, read, ponder and store up God's word.
Psalm 119:105 tells us, "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path." God's word shows us, always, the way to go. As we memorize his word and store it in our hearts, it becomes a vocabulary for the Holy Spirit to use to prompt us, to lead us in righteous paths. Don't blame God for your bad decisions or the consequences that have followed.
3. Obedience to His ways and sensitivity to His voice--God makes it very clear in scripture that if we obey his commandments, we will find blessing. He also tells us the when we follow the gods of culture and disobey Him, we will find curse--bad consequences in our lives.
"See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known." Deut. 11: 26-28
When you practice walking in wisdom and choosing to follow Biblical wisdom and truth, you may find yourself alone, but walking the way of God--owning and taking responsibilities--will result ultimately in the favor and blessing of God, because we were made to flourish in living by His direction.
How can you own your life through your decisions? How can you face the foolish decisions you have made and come back to the pathway of following the ways of God.
Choose to be a woman of wise, discerning, godly choices, even when making the right one is difficult and you will find more grace and light with each day, each year.
"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day." Proverbs 4;18
***Don't forget that my new book, Own Your Life, is now available for pre-order!
