Doug E. Pudge

Where To Turn & When To Go

You know, I was thinking. Often times we get ourselves caught up in the dilemma of making decisions in our lives. I know that each of us has a process that we use in order to come to a decision but often times we get caught up in the details of that process. Now, I must tell you that you are reading something from a man that has made a number of bad decisions in his life and that I don't always get things right the first time. But many people are so afraid of making the wrong decision that they really make no decision at all. I spend a lot of time with people of faith and most of them talk the good talk about making "prayful" decisions. I often ask myself that if people are praying about their decisions why does it seem to take so long to make them. I know that God gives His answers in His time but I really believe that some of the things that we are praying about really don't matter to God or we are not listening for his answers. For instance, I have been praying for years for God to deliver me into a different job. I have fasted and prayed and prayed and fasted and wondered why God wouldn't answer my prayer. Then, with the holy 2 x 4 God got my attention and let me know that he had answered my prayer time and time again and the answer was NO! His desire was for me to stay where I am. I didn't like the answer when I got it the first time so I kept on praying and praying and praying........and the whole time I was getting frustrated about it. God had given me an answer that I didn't like so I guess I was just pretending that I didn't hear Him.

When we have a decision to make we should seek God in prayer about it. But don't make it such a big production out of it. Many times I see Christians sitting back and doing nothing until the get "a sign" from God! Well, did you ask God for a sign? Did you pray specifically about what sign you were looking to receive? For instance about a month ago I received a call from a job recruiter about a position that was open that I was very qualified to fill. The problem was that the job was in Virginia. Well, not wanting to close any doors, I prayed about this opportunity and spoke to my wife about it. We decided that it was appropriate to test this and see if it was of God or not so we asked for a simple sign. If we were not supposed to pursue this opportunity then we wanted God to shut it down ASAP. So, I spoke to the recruiter, updated my resume and told him to proceed. A week later he called me and told me that the company had decided that I had not worked for a large enough company and that they weren't interested in me. How easy of a decision that became! We asked God to handle it and he did. All we did was open ourselves up to an opportunity and allowed God to speak through it.

Believe me when I say that the art of decision making isn't always this simple. There are some decisions that we must take some time on but there are also times when we know the right thing to do and we choose not to do it. Don't be afraid of making wrong decisions but be more fearful of being left in the dust because you have failed to make any decision. If you are indeed walking in the light as He is in the light and you do have fellowship with the Father, most of the time you really do know the answer to most of lifes questions very quickly. When it comes right down to it don't let yourself be motivated by fear but overcome the fear with the power that we all have in the Father. Make you best decisions based on what you believe to be what God would want you to do and don't be afraid of adjusting it as you go forward. Be blessed beyond belief today.

posted by Doug E. Pudge @ 8:14 AM