July 18, 2010
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Kings in the business world must make decisions routinely. I want to suggest that making a wise decision in the context of our heart’s desire is the quickest way we can discern the will of God. Our church tradition is that God should tell us what to do. In rare instances He does, but the norm is using wisdom. I understand God’s general will and so I map out a plan through my own heart’s desire. As I’m inventing and implementing that plan, I’m having conversations with the Father to see if He has any adjustments. I give Him the right to tweak the plan, stop it, or delay it. However, most often His direction is “well done” and “get going.” After I screw my courage and implement my plan with the Father’s blessing and congratulate myself on the fruit, I often hear this comment, “You could have done this long ago.” Here’s the secret: if I’m willing to make a Kingly plan instead of making God do it, it pleases Him. If the plan takes me through my own heart’s desires (which have roots in God), then I’ll enjoy working the plan. It will be fun and I’ll be motivated to complete it. Servants who pride themselves on doing someone else’s plan (even if it is God’s) don’t enjoy what they do. They eventually run out of motivation and quit, or fail to put their heart into it. Here’s a summary of your two choices for making decisions. 1)
Asking God
what to do - The classic, traditional approach is centered
on a belief that “sovereignty” means that God knows and controls the
future. Under this view our only job is to find the singular “will of
God” and do it. Initiative is viewed as a swamp of presumptuous
shipwrecks fraught with temptations that play on our carnality. We only
move when the Spirit leads. This line of theology leads us to avoid
using the wisdom of logic and common sense to make decisions
(disastrous for Kings).
Note:
You’ve heard the phrase, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for
your life.” It’s not true – he has about 1000 plans for your life and
He’s waiting for you to choose one.
2)
Kingly Wisdom - The Kingly approach is premised on the
fact that God has reserved a portion of the future for us to rule and
reign with him. “God’s sovereignty” is understood to mean that He can
do anything he wants, to intervene at anytime He wants to. However, He
chooses to let much of history unfold through the activity of Kings.
Thus our initiative plays a huge role in co-laboring with Christ. Since
we’re created in His image, we consider the desires of our hearts as
holy ground, deserving attention, discernment, and action. The Promised
Land is a place where our heart’s desires, our gifts, our vocation, and
our ministry all align with God’s plan for our lives, a plan we help
define via our “relationship” with Jesus.
From a practical standpoint, all Christians face weighty decisions without absolutely clear guidance on what to do. The classic approach (1) actually causes well-meaning believers to invent hunches and impressions and act on them as though they came from the Holy Spirit. They are theologically unable to accept that their heart’s desires and initiative may be the means through which God expects them to make decisions. One huge hindrance to overcoming a steady diet of decisions based on prophetic revelation is our history. We can all point to initiatives we entertained that failed utterly and were obviously not the “path of the righteous.” They can cause to “seek God’s revelation” even more and use wisdom even less. We end up in a religious mess laden with guilt, self doubt, and introspection, unable to make a good decision. Mentoring – There is a common missing ingredient that will facilitate our transition from (1) to (2). It’s wisdom: the practical guidance from past experience with successes and failures of our own or others. I believe God is unfolding a fathering ingredient for marketplace ministries that fits this apostolic age. Instead of closeting ourselves in prayer and fasting, waiting for that perfectly clear guidance, let’s define a direction based on the desire of our heart and find a believer who has the background to help us make it happen. Really successful Kings love to share their secrets with people who share their heart’s desires. Successful people always have a fraternity of friends who help them. Those helpers might be advisors, employees, mentors, team members, board members, friends, etc. Wisdom knows who to ask for help. I’m not suggesting that you discount hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. I am inviting you to see if that voice isn’t leading you to use “wisdom” to make decisions instead of agonizing over them. Take a look at the Biblical emphasis on “wise” and “wisdom” in your concordance. It’s amazing! Can you see the connection between wealth and wisdom? She
said to the king, "The report I heard in my own country about your
achievements and your wisdom is true. 7 But I did not believe these
things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was
told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard.
8 How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually
stand before you and hear your wisdom! 1 Kings 10:6-9 NIV
The wealth of the wise is their crown... Prov 14:24 NIV
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