The Alpha of Decision Making

UV2982 /10000 The Alpha of Decision Making
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 4 v 7

If we believe the Lord and take decisions to please Him, we will be accepted by Him. But, if we instead listen to the enemy of our souls and his subtle suggestions, we make ourselves and our decisions unacceptable. The latter wants to conquer our hearts and minds and become master of our every decision and action but we should not let him in. The uni-verse above states that every moment the enemy , the author of sin is crouching at the door of our hearts. At the same time, the Lord and Giver of life, the author of faith is also standing at the door and knocking. Instead of inviting the One who is standing at the door, we should not bend down to invite the one who is crouching at the door. We miss seeing the Lord if we are looking in the wrong direction towards the floor and not right ahead of us. If we consistently listen to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit and act in accordance, we keep the father of lies at a distance and live in communion and close fellowship of the Father of our lives, the Father of our spirits who breathed the spirit into us at the beginning of time. When we listen and abide by the words of Jesus, we excel in everything we do. The Saviour will also be Lord of our lives. He knows what is best for us and will both counsel and guide our steps, our decision making.
The book of Proverbs also asks us to surround us with a multitude of wise advisers before taking any decision. Their experience and expertise will help us avoid the pitfalls, mistakes or blunders that we would be prone to make otherwise. We gain a different perspective from each adviser and the inputs they give us will help us make a timely, wise and balanced decision. The advisers chosen must be people with enough knowledge or experience in the domain in which we are to take the decision. For instance, to build a house that will weather storms in a coastal area, we need to consult a structural engineer and architect who has worked on such buildings in coastal areas.
If the decision made is in alignment with the perfect or pleasing will of the Lord, not contrary to conscience, the law of the land and not encroaching on the well being of another person, the decision maker will have the peace that is beyond rational explanation or understanding. The soul of the person will be at peace with God and self and others. He will experience the continuing counsel, guidance and encouragement of the Lord, receive a confirmation from the Word that he is heading in the right direction. Sometimes, if we are still confused, we should seek a sign from the Lord to confirm if we are on the right track even as Gideon used the flax wool test with success. We should never take a decision when we are angry, over excited, emotional but wait for our emotions to cool down and view the matter more dispassionately and objectively, relying of course on the intuition that faith provides us. Cain decided not only not to be his brother’s keeper but to become his brother’s life taker on account of his anger and resentment that was fed by his jealousy. He did not examine his own motives or the reason why he was unduly upset with Abel, his brother. Abel in contrast was focussed on pleasing the Lord and was whole-hearted in his devotion. Once a decision is made, we should follow through despite any kind of obstacles or temporary setbacks with well thought out actions planned and intended to implement the decision taken.