人生需要作出不少抉擇:求學、工作、婚姻、住處......
而且為這些事,可能不止需要作出一次決定,
過後也會反覆思考,究竟抉擇是否正確合適?
因為很多時抉擇沒有明顯的對錯或優劣之分;
又或者一方面「取」,卻需要在另一方面「捨」。
『人心籌算自己的道路,惟耶和華指引他的腳步。』(箴言十六章9節)
『人心籌算自己的道路,惟耶和華指引他的腳步。』(箴言十六章9節)
最近反覆考慮一件事,禱告求主指引但無明確回應;
不過當我求主保守行在主的旨意中,
勿受自己的心意蒙蔽,隨即有具體回應,雲霧漸散路漸清!
第二天禱告後閱讀9月28日的靈命日糧文章《先問上帝》,甚有共鳴:
『有時,我也很想從上帝那裡得到明確的答案,知道祂要我做什麼,比如祂要我選擇什麼樣的工作。雖然我祈求上帝的引導和閱讀聖經,都沒有得著任何具體的答案,但有一個答案是顯而易見的:我要倚靠上帝,又要以祂為樂,並將我的事交託給祂(詩篇37篇3-5節)。
那時我意識到,上帝通常會讓我們自由地去做選擇,前提是我們先尋求上帝的心意,而不是追求滿足自己的喜好。這意味著,對於明顯是錯誤、不討上帝喜悅的選擇,我們都應放棄。因為這些選擇可能是不道德的、不敬虔的,或是會破壞我們與上帝的關係。如果剩下的選項是上帝所喜悅的,我們就可以自由地從中做出選擇。當我們的心以天父上帝為樂,這位慈愛的天父會將你我心裡所求的賜給我們(4節)。』
《每日經歷神》9月29日的文章《這一點也不難!》又再解釋:
『神的旨意並不難以分辨,祂賜下聖經揭示祂的旨意。祂把祂自己的聖靈放置我們的心中,在人生每一個情況引導我們明白祂完美的旨意(約翰福音十六:13)。我們最大的挑戰是全心全意把自己的生命交託給神,按著神的心意,遵行神的旨意。…
神藉著聖靈,總是給予你足夠的啓示及力量,與祂同走下一步路。如果不確定神要你做甚麼,要先確定你是否竭盡全力順服祂。因著你的順服,祂下一步的指示會變得很清楚。』
如定意尋求並順服主的旨意,
祂定會引領我行在祂心意中,
但關鍵在自己的思考有否被自我意願蒙蔽,
因而期望神的心意與自己的心意相符。
但願有這份耐力,「竭盡全力順服祂」。
但願有這份耐力,「竭盡全力順服祂」。
Making choices and decisions
We often
come across decision making in life,
from where and what to study, to work,
to
marriage, and the choice of where to live.
Moreover, we may need to make such
decisions more than once,
We may make reflections afterwards,
judging
whether our decisions earlier were right or not,
because in many cases,
there is no
clear differentiation between good and bad,
right or wrong between different options.
When we ‘take up’ something,
we may also have to ‘give up’ other
things.
Recently, I have been considering an issue.
I have
been asking for clear guidance from God but He seemed to keep silent.
However, when I asked God
to keep me walking in His will,
there comes an amazing experience and the fog
seems to clear up.
On the next day after my prayer,
“At times I’ve wanted desperately to know exactly what God wanted me to do—such as which
job to take. Praying for guidance and reading the Bible didn’t reveal any
specific answers. But one answer was clear: I was to trust in the Lord, take
delight in Him, and commit my way to Him (Psalm 37:3–5).
That’s when I realized that God usually gives us the
freedom of choice — if we first seek to put His ways before our own. That means
dropping choices that are plainly wrong or would not please Him. It might be
something immoral, ungodly, or unhelpful toward our relationship with Him. If
the remaining options please God, then we’re free to choose from them. Our
loving Father wants to give us the desires of our hearts—hearts that take
delight in Him (v. 4).”
I received another explanation in the article 'It's not difficult' on 29 SEP of ‘Experiencing God Day by Day’,
“God’s will is not hard to
discern. He has given us the Scriptures, which reveal His will, and He has
placed His Holy Spirit within us to guide us to His perfect will in every situation
(John 16:13). Our greatest challenge will be to wholly commit our lives to
follow God’s will obediently as He reveals it…
God, through His Holy Spirit,
will always give you sufficient revelation and strength to take the next step
with Him. If you are uncertain about what God is asking of you, make sure that
you are obeying all that you do know, and through your obedience, God’s next
instruction will become clear.”
If we are determined to seek the will of God and
obey,
He would surely guide us walk according to His will.
The problem is
whether our thoughts have been affected by our own will and expect God’s will
to be the same as ours.
I hope I could have such endurance to 'obey all that I do know'.
I hope I could have such endurance to 'obey all that I do know'.
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