Updated March 14, 2024

If you have not read the previous blog posts in this series, you can find them at this link.

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

In moments of doubt, we may not always be conscious of the chain of events that got us there. And when facing challenges, the last thing we may want to do is assess what is happening.

We may just want to quickly ease our pain, and this is where we may feel tempted to avoid taking personal responsibility. But we need to ask God to help us maintain rational thinking in the midst of challenges. Clarify of thought is of the upmost importance during stressful situations.

A healthy exploration of what ‘should and shouldn’t have been done’ can reveal important lessons to inform future actions.  But in the midst of trying to get through a challenge, overanalyzing could leave persons so despondent that they lose the will to make decisions and move forward.

When going through changes we have choices; choices to embrace the things that we need to be accountable for. To experience a positive chain of events when challenges arise, we can ask God for His wisdom to replace our reasoning.  We can ask God to guide us in what we listen to, what we speak and what we decide to do.

We can depend on God to help us avoid a chain of clouded logic and unhealthy decisions; and instead we can learn and adopt a positive sequence of thoughts and actions.  We can seek a positive solution in the midst of uncertainty.

We can trust God, who is the great problem solver, and we can be confident that we can always seek God’s help. So when we are dealing with challenges, we can: confront our fears in God’s power; have a correct view of the external as well as a correct view of ourselves; embrace an optimistic and joyful attitude and take responsibility for our actions.

Question:

How can you be more proactive and intentional in seeking God’s guidance in your decision making?

The focus of the next blog post will be: ‘Dependency – Looking for Another Leader‘.