Learning to Make Intentional Decisions as I Follow and Pursue God’s Dream for My Life

In James 3:17 I read, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” (NIV)

When God gives me a dream, I won’t just accidentally fulfill it. I’ll have to be intentional in making several critical decisions that will help grow my faith and move me toward fulfilling the dream God created me to dream.

Here are two decisions that are necessary: 

First, you need to invest. I have to decide to invest my time, money, reputation, and energy in the things that will advance my pursuit of God’s dream. 

In other words, I need to stop making excuses and take the plunge. This is when I say, “God, I’m not going to procrastinate any longer. I’m going to do what you’ve told me to do.”

Second, I need to let go of security. I can’t move forward in faith while holding on to the past.

A great picture of letting go of security is a trapeze artist. She swings out on one bar—but before she can grab the next bar and swing to the other side, she has to let go of that first bar. The bars are far enough apart that she can’t hold on to both at the same time. At some point she must let go of the security of the first bar. Then, for a split second, she is flying in midair, holding on to neither one.

Maybe you’ve never swung on a trapeze, but have you ever been at the point in your career when you’ve left one job and are looking for another, and there is nothing in between? It feels like you’re a hundred feet in the air with no net below. 

But if I don’t let go of my old life and grab on to the vision God wants for me, then I’ll simply swing back in the old direction—only I won’t swing all the way back. I’ll just swing lower and lower until I finally stop, hanging there with only one way out: down.

Like the trapeze artist, I have to decide to let go of my security in order to take hold of my dream.

When I’m making critical decisions to follow God’s dream, it’s not about making quick decisions. It’s about making the right decisions. Quick decisions are easy—and usually wrong. It takes wisdom and time to make the right decision. 

For wisdom, James 1:5 reminds me to just ask God, and he’ll generously give his wisdom to anyone who is faithfully sincere in their request. And “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17 NIV). 

While God gives me advice and guidelines, he does not force me to do anything. He offers me freewill to decide on how I’ll live my life rather than making the decisions for me? He designed me with a mind to think through and consider my choices and impacts. 

As I follow his dream for my life, God is asking me to use my freewill to make an investment that will help further his Kingdom and bring hope to others I interact with. I just need to be willing to set aside any selfish ambitions and invest in his causes.

Today I need to let go of my reservedness and reach out and have discussions and relationships with others. I’m going to consider this and put forth an effort to do so. 

Trusting God When You Don’t Understand

In Proverbs 3:5 I read, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.” (HCSB)

Many people, including myself, ask God to guarantee success before trying what he has asked us to do—but that’s not faith. Faith always requires risk.

Faith means I obey even when I don’t understand. For example, forgiveness never seems like a good idea before I do it, but it’s one of the greatest tests of my faith. When someone hurts me, it may not feel right to forgive that person; it may not appear just. But forgiveness is always the right choice, regardless of whether I understand it.

Remember when as a child, my parents told me to do something that didn’t make sense? But now I can look back with 20/20 hindsight and understand my parents’ perspective.

That’s how it works with God too.

Faith is doing what’s right even when it seems absurd. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding” (HCSB). I will never know the whole picture, but God does. 

The Bible gives a great example of this in the story of Gideon in Judges 7. Gideon took 300 Israelites to battle 135,000 enemy soldiers. The odds were 450 to one. God had the soldiers take torches, trumpets, and clay pots—a command I’m sure Gideon thought was ludicrous.

Then God told Gideon to put the clay pots over the torches so the light couldn’t be seen at night and go surround the enemy’s camp. God’s instructions were something like this: “When I tell you to, blow the trumpets, break the pots, and let the torchlight suddenly shine out in the darkness. It will look like a huge army is surrounding the camp. It will cause mass confusion, and the enemy soldiers will end up fighting each other.”

Gideon obeyed, even though it didn’t make any sense. The Israelites blew their trumpets, broke their pots, and revealed the light from their torches. The enemy soldiers woke up in shock and started fighting each other instead of the Israelites. Because Gideon did what God told him to do—even when he didn’t understand it—the Israelites won the battle.

Sometimes God tells me to do something that appears foolish—like going into battle facing overwhelming odds. But when I have faith, I’ll obey God even when I don’t understand what he’s asking me to do.

Like Gideon and his soldiers, I can’t live by faith without risk. But God sees the big picture with 20/20 vision. I can trust what he’s asking me to do.

In summary, many, including myself, ask God to guarantee success before trying what he has asked us to do—but that’s not faith. Faith always requires risk. Faith means I obey even when I don’t understand. Faith is doing what’s right even when it seems absurd. I will never know the whole picture, but God does. The Bible gives a great example of this in the story of Gideon. Sometimes God tells me to do something that appears foolish. But when I have faith, I’ll obey God even when I don’t understand what he’s asking me to do. I can’t live by faith without risk. But God sees the big picture with 20/20 vision. I can trust what he’s asking me to do.

I need to learn to trust in the Lord with all my heart. Never rely on what I think I know. Remember to include the Lord in everything I do, then he will show me the right way to go. I should never think highly of myself. Simply obey the Lord and refuse to do wrong. After all, God knows what is best for me. I must learn to trust him completely in everything. I need to be willing to listen to and be corrected by God's Word and wise counselors. Bring decisions to God in prayer, use His Word as a guide and follow His leading. To receive His guidance all I need to do is to turn every area of my life over to him and seek his will in what I do.

Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks

In Ephesians 3:20 I read, “Glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes." (TLB)

To have bold faith, means taking risks. The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).

There is an example of taking risks in the parable of the talents. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells the story of a man who went away for a while and gave his servants some “talents”—a large amount of money. He gave one person one talent, another person two talents, and another person five talents.

The five-talent person invested his money and doubled it. The two-talent person invested it and got two more talents. When the master came back and saw what they had done, he said to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23 NIV).

But the person who was given one talent became afraid, so he hid his talent in the ground. When the master saw this, he said, “You wicked, lazy servant . . . you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest” (Matthew 25:26-27 NIV).

The lesson Jesus wants us to learn is this: God wants me to take risks in faith. If I make the most of what he’s given me, then I’m going to be given even more. But if I’m scared and take no risks, then I’m actually being unfaithful—I’m not acting in faith—with what God’s given me.

Ephesians 3:20 says, “Glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes” (TLB).

So, I need to go ahead, take big risks and have bold faith. Because God says, “I can take your biggest dream—and top it!”

In summary, Glory to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than any of us would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. To have bold faith means taking risks. The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God”. An example of taking risks is found in the parable of the talents, in Matthew 25. In this Jesus tells the story of a man who went away and gave his servants some “talents”, which were large amounts of money. He gave one person one talent, another person two talents, and another person five talents. Those who invested and had a return were praised. But the one who didn’t was not acting in faith. The lesson to learn is: God wants me to take risks in faith. If I make the most of what he’s given me, then I’m going to be given even more. But if I’m scared and take no risks, then I’m actually being unfaithful—I’m not acting in faith—with what God’s given me. So, I need to go ahead, take big risks and have bold faith. Because God says, “I can take your biggest dream—and top it!”

His power at work in me can do far more than I can ever dare ask or imagine. I have the privilege of having all the fullness of God available to me. But, I must appropriate this through my faith in Him and in my daily prayers as I live for him. Setting goals is important, as Jesus set goals. I need to set goals because it is a spiritual responsibility. If I don't then I'm letting others decide and I will end up wasting my time and life. I have to set goals and move toward them as I keep my eyes focused on them. Secondly I need to set goals because they are statements of faith. I'm saying I believe that God wants me to accomplish this by this time. I also need to set goals because doing so will focus my energy. This way I won't spread my energy out and diffuse it over a whole bunch of things and not make any impact. I don't have time to do everything, so the key to being effective is to do what matters most and forget everything else. Goals will help me maintain that focus. 

There’s No Faith Without Risk

In review of 2 Corinthians 5:7, I'm reminded that “We walk by faith, not by sight” (ESV).

Life is a matter of faith, not of sight. I know these things are true by believing and not by seeing. There is no faith without risk.

Faith means stepping out into the unknown when I don’t know what’s even in the unknown. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “We walk by faith, not by sight” (ESV). This means that I’m to walk while looking with spiritual eyes, and not physical ones. I look from God’s point of view, not from my own human point of view.

Faith is letting go of my security. Faith is saying, “I’m going to face my fears. I’m going to risk failure. I’m going to dare to move forward.”

Much like a circus trapeze artist, there’s the moment of truth, when the artist has to make a decision: “If I’m going to grab on to the other guy, I’m going to have to let go of this trapeze. Do I let go of the security of one to grab hold of the security of the other?” He doesn’t have all day to think about it. If he waits until “next time,” then he’ll go back, and every swing will be a little farther away from his goal. Pretty soon, he’ll come to a standstill and be stuck. There is no time for indecision.

I’m learning it’s the same with faith. If I want to grow as a follower of Jesus, I need to take a risk. In the example of when Peter walked on water, he first had to get out of the boat. I too need to leave the safety of what I’ve always known for the safety of God’s purpose. I need to let go and grab ahold of God’s best for me.

Faith is risking the failure. It’s making the investment of time, money, energy, or reputation, knowing that I don’t have to fear the unknown or what will happen if I can’t do it on my own. When I’m motivated by faith rather than fear, God will be able to do something awesome through me.

In summary, life if s matter of faith, not of sight. I know these things are true by believing and not by seeing. There is no faith on my part without risk. Faith means stepping out into the unknown when I don't know what's even in the unknown. Walk while looking with spiritual eyes and not physical ones. Looking from God's point of view and not my own. Faith is also letting go of my security, facing my fears, risking failure and daring to move forward. I have to let go of one and grab the other. There is no time for indecision. So to grow as a follower, I need to take a risk, leave the safety of what I've always known for the safety of God's purpose.Faith is risking the failure, and making the investment, knowing that I don't have to fear the unknown or what will happen if I can't do it on my own. 

Today, I will think about what risks I have been unwilling to take because of the fear of failure. I pray Father for your encouragement via the Holy Spirit to step out in faith letting go of what I find secure, facing my fears and moving forward. I also ask for wisdom and guidance for my day. Help me to think clearly and take actions that will help others, and move the mission of my organization and also the Kingdom forward. Give me wisdom to lead, and to guide my interactions with others. These things I pray in your Son Jesus name, Amen!