Greetings Church,
As we continue to look at wisdom in the book of Proverbs, we learn that we must partner with God in our decision making.
Questions for Small Groups:
To start your group, have everyone share something that God is doing in your life this past week.
I. Put God in charge of your decisions.
1. Read this week’s fighter verse: Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
How does this verse impact you? How does it give you hope? Increase your trust of God?
2. Can you identify an area of your life where you haven’t put God in charge of your decisions?
II. Master God’s revealed will in the Bible.
Proverbs 28:9. If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Proverbs 29:18. Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.
3. How have you seen knowledge of the word of God aid in your personal decision making?
III. Learn to discern God’s unrevealed will.
4. Dr. Harton gave some ways we can discern the will of God:
- Through our own plans (Pr. 20:25).
- Through godly counsel (Pr. 11:14).
- By learning through bad decisions (Pr. 15:5).
- By the promptings of the Holy Spirit (Pr. 21:1, Phil. 2:13)
Which of these stands out to you? Which have you experienced? How?
IV. The gospel and decision making.
5. Read Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Read Proverbs 16:3. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.
Guidance is something God gives to us AS we trust him (not before). First we acknowledge him, then, he makes our path straight.
First we commit to the Lord, then, he establishes our plans.
Gaining wisdom comes with a cost- total trust in God. We develop wisdom as we totally commit everything to Him. This is backwards from what we usually think. We tend to think that first God tells us what to do, then, we trust him and do it. Of course there are things God has told us to do in scripture (his decreed will). And yes you should obey these. And yes God has revealed our ultimate destiny (his presence). But most of our decisions in life are not decreed by God. God doesn’t typically tell us what to do in specific situations. God puts us in situations that demand that we trust in him. When we trust him, he reveals his plan over time.
Christ totally committed his life to God and then God revealed the course of his life over time, guiding Jesus all the way to the cross. Yes Christ knew his ultimate destiny, but he also had to trust God with the details.
How does the sacrifice of Christ for you allow you to fully trust God with your life? How does knowing your ultimate destiny in the future allow you to make decisions in the present?
