Life Ministries

“All of Life Is A Decision” - Scripture - Psalm 23

    A very successful executive was interviewed by an up and coming junior and was asked how he got to be so successful. The man replied; “It’s the result of making good decisions”. The junior asked; “How is it that you always make good decisions?”. “Experience” the man replied. “How do you get experience”? To which the executive said; “From making bad decisions.”

    Let me quote from 2 Peter 1:3-9 - “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godli-ness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsight-ed and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”  My paraphrase of that last verse might be; “If he does not have them…he has made some wrong decisions!” You see, all of life is a decision…and all of life is the result of our decisions. 
    The 23^rd. Psalm begins with the most important decision we could ever make in life; “The Lord is my shepherd.”  (It’s a fact, it’s a truth…and it is a decision.)  David says; “I have made a decision that the Lord is my shepherd…. “I shall not want.” That’s also a decision. It’s an attitude. But, it is also a fact, a truth, “Because the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want!”
    David paints us a great picture here. As we consider our lives and our future both here and now and eternally, every one of us has made a decision as to who we will follow…who will be the shepherd of our lives. If not the Lord, then maybe we follow the world…or maybe we follow some other person or religion, or maybe we have made the decision that we are our own shepherd and we follow self! Well, let me ask you this; “How’s it working for you?”  Do you have peace and joy and self-control and kindness and love in your life?…or is life filled with cheap imitations?
    Our world has convinced many people that they cannot make some decisions and stand by, or be committed to, those decisions for very long. We can’t make long term decisions; we can’t make long term commitments; especially as it concerns marriage and family. Listen, the world is committed to not make any commitments!
    David is making a long term decision here; “The Lord is my shepherd” I have no other shepherd…no one else is leading my life…nothing else is directing my path or influencing my decisions… and because of  experiences in life that have come from making wrong decisions, David makes a right decision.  Some people have asked why we would move clear out to Virginia from Wisconsin…or why to Maryland…or South Carolina? There is only one answer - “because the Lord is my shepherd.” He leads us, he guides us, he restores us, even when we don’t know why…we trust him. We have made some bad decisions in the past, but the best decision was to follow Christ and allow God to be in control.
    “I shall not want” says David. He has learned that God supplies all his needs. God cares about all our needs; our spiritual needs, our emotional needs, as well as our material needs.
    “He restores my soul”… God is in the business of restoring souls. His Word says that the outer man is decaying and aging, but the inner man is “being renewed day by day.”
    “He guides me in the paths of righteousness.” When God is my shepherd, I can trust that he will - not that he can, but will - guide me wherever he wants me to go either for my good, or His glory.  However, I must make the decision to follow, even if I don’t understand the direction or the even if the path doesn’t make sense. “My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts” says God…“Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him,  and he will lead in paths of righteousness….and it may not always be the easy way… the smoothest way…or the way we believe will make us happy, but it is always the right way!
    David goes on to say that “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear”… Why? .. Because I have made the decision that the Lord is my shepherd! Notice also that he says “through” and not “into” the valley!
    Let me close with verse 6 - “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” God’s people don’t leave this world with no one following. I have seen cars following for miles, someone who has gone through life with the Lord as their shepherd. They don’t leave behind hurt feelings and broken relation-ships. They have many friends and family…lives they have touched and been a part of over the years. They leave goodness and mercy and beauty and honesty and integrity as those things which have followed them all the days of their lives. All of life is a decision….and all of life is the result of decisions!
    Joshua said; “As for me and my house, we will follow the Lord!”… I challenge you today to make the decision that the Lord will be your shepherd…and everything else in life will be based on that decision…. It’s the most important decision any of us will ever make.