Small Decisions, Big Consequences
“He rescued me basically when I couldn’t rescue myself”
– Kevin
Kevin was faced with a tough financial decision while in college. He chose to go against his better judgment and the direction where his faith was leading him. Instead, he decided to trust in his own provision in his time of need, instead of God’s provision.
“At first, I was kind of hesitant with my faith. Knowing that’s the wrong thing to do. I should have known better.”
Kevin’s decision to not trust God and go against his better judgment led him to even tougher times. He chose to go against what he knew was the right decision. The little decision to trust in himself rather than God led him in a downward spiral away from God, his faith, and into even darker times. The path away from God is a slippery slope we slide down, not a cliff we fall off of.
“I lost contact. I wasn’t reading my bible. I wasn’t following God, wasn’t going to church. I was getting into making some bad decisions.”
The seemingly harmless decision of taking the job offered to him put Kevin in places where he faced even more unhealthy choices. When we are not keeping guard of ourselves and staying close to God, we will fall. It is a slow path away from God. It is a path that continues to lead away from Him if we do not bring Him back into our decisions. The longer we keep going without turning to God, the more isolated we will become from the people and things we need the most.
“I didn’t realize how far I was, how destructive I was. I didn’t know how to get out of it. I was hurting bad.”
But as in Kevin’s story, God is always eagerly waiting for us to turn back. When we find ourselves bound by our circumstances and living in hurt, God is already there, ready to rescue us.
“I asked God to forgive me, and I knew he would. Because He is a loving God.”
In life, there are an endless amount of tough decisions along the way. If we don’t trust God in our tough decisions, then we will have many more tough decisions to face. Keep God at the center of your decisions, no matter how hard it may seem. Little choices make a big difference. Allow God to have control of the littlest of decisions. He wants to be involved in every area of your life, no matter how small.
If you are facing a tough decision, here are some points to think about:
What do you trust when life gets tough, and you have to make even tougher decisions?
Are you currently facing a decision that you are hesitant in making and why? Is it against your beliefs?
Do you have peace in your decision?
Below is an acronym to help find peace in your decision:
P – Providential: Am I the one setting up this situation and decision? Or is God?
E – Enemy: Does this decision put me in a place where the enemy wants me to be? Or am I drawing closer and trusting God in this?
A – Authority: Does this decision keep me under the right authority and in a position of right standing?
C – Confidence: Am I confident in this decision and that it is where God is leading me?
E – Ease: Am I at ease with this decision? Do I have the peace of God in the decision despite my own understanding?
R.K. (n.d.). Did You Think to Pray?
Words to Live By:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV).
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” Psalm 103: 10-14 (ESV).
