Decisions, Decisions...

This coming week begins my busy month of June. It kicks off with something I'm very much looking forward too: Summer Camp! This year I'll be taking the students through the book of Esther, a book which I hadn't studied in depth until recently. As I poured over this story I was struck by many things, but one theme in particular really got my attention: The decisions we make are important, and sometimes the most important decisions are the ones we don't have to make. Here's what I mean.

Every day we are faced with hundreds of little choices. What should I wear? What's for breakfast? How fast will I drive? Will I call that person or just send them a text? How firm should I shake this person's hand?... and the list goes on and on. These are decisions we have to make. We can't just sit back and do nothing. If we do that nothing would happen. We wouldn't eat, go to work, get dressed, or do anything.

But then there are other decisions, sometimes big decisions, that we don't have to make. We could choose, in a sense, to not choose and just let life continue on as normal. This was the situation facing men like Abraham, Moses, and David. Abraham could have just stayed in his homeland and not followed God's leading to Canaan. Moses could have just stayed in the wilderness and not confronted Pharaoh about the Israelites in slavery. David could have taken one look at Goliath, shrugged his shoulders, and walked back home. Life would have continued as it had been. But each of these men chose to follow God outside of their comfort zone. They chose to be obedient and left the results in God's hand.

Esther did the same thing. She was confronted with a situation where she could do a great thing and maybe even save her entire race from extinction. However, it might've cost her her life. Yet, she made the decision to obey the direction the Lord was leading her and trusted the results to God.

What is amazing is that she did this seemingly on her own. Yes, she prayed about it and sought wise counsel. But, she didn't hear a voice from heaven. She didn't find a verse that matched her situation perfectly. She didn't have a dream or vision. She just weighed the options and decided. In other words, she is just like us.

I've found that very encouraging recently with all that has been going on. Sometimes decisions, especially big ones, are tough to make. Sure, I could coast along, staying in my comfort zone. I could figuratively float along the wonderful circle of the lazy river at a water-park (which won't be figurative at camp, but will be wonderfully literal). But sometimes we need to decide. The Gospel is a perfect example of this. We could just wait on committing our lives to Christ, but the time comes when we need to make a choice, when God awakens our hearts and we say, "Yes, I will fully live for Christ with all that I am."

So, what decisions are facing you? Big ones? Small ones? I would encourage you to do what Esther and these other men of the faith did. Pray, weigh the options, then follow God in obedience, leaving the results in His sovereign hands.