Shana shared with us another devotional today, and we've posted here for those who weren't able to attend and for others who want to return to it and reflect.
"When you hear the term "seven seas," you may think of the oceans or someone with a wealth of experience. So today, I’m going to briefly cover the Seven C's of how God can guide us when making decisions and how to navigate the Sea of Life.
Every person's life consists of big and little decisions. You can be confident that God will help you make the right decisions. Although some bad decisions will be made along the way, we can realize and acknowledge our mistakes, and look to God. He will provide us with navigational aids so that proper course corrections for our lives can be attained.
The first of the seven C’s is Communication. We need to be in touch with God through reading His Word and through prayer. While the answer may not be in black and white Scripture, the biblical guidelines can be found in the Bible stories. The more biblical guidelines for making decisions you know and put into practice, the more obvious will be your course of action.
In 1 Peter 5:7 we are told to "cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you." Does this include concern about making the right decisions? Of course. If God has promised us over and over again in Scripture that He cares about our well-being, certainly He will answer our prayer requests for help in making decisions.
The second C is inner Convictions of the Holy Spirit. The convictions from the Holy Spirit will always be in line with God's perfect will for us and are therefore crucial when it comes to making right decisions.
Common Sense is the third "C," which we generally take for granted, and yet it is definitely a means that God has given us to make decisions. In fact, most decisions are made with common sense. He expects us to use the common sense that He has given us concerning an issue and let Him fit these small decisions into the overall pattern of our lives. God has blessed us with common sense, and it's our responsibility, as much as possible, to use it for wise decision-making about the common, everyday matters of life.
"How God made us" is what the fourth C is all about: Composition. The way in which God sovereignly put us together as to likes and dislikes, looks and brains, abilities and spiritual gifts is actually a means that God uses to guide us. God may be guiding you to say "yes" to an opportunity to be involved in something that you have the natural ability to relate to and communicate with those invovled. We have to decide to the job we were designed to do!
The fifth C is the Counsel of others. Mature, godly Christians can point us in the right direction and help us make right decisions. Getting advice from others about what shirt to buy or what house to buy can help point us in the right direction.
The sixth C is Circumstances. God is sovereign, all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere at the same time, and he knows what’s going on in your life. There is nothing that happens by mere chance, and that includes every last detail of our lives.
Lastly, there is Control. Sometimes we don’t have any control. God sometimes reaches in and takes control of our situation in such a way that we are no longer even involved in the decision!"
Have a blessed week!
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