Decisions Determine Destiny

You are facing decisions today. Most of them will be small and seemingly insignificant ones. A few will be big decisions. You might even face a decision that will change the trajectory of your life. Regardless of their size, develop a lifestyle approach to decision-making and the will of God: learn to wait for his timing, ask for him to show you what to do, listen and give him a chance to speak, then quickly and unconditionally obey. Decisions determine destiny.

Going Deep // Focus: 2 Samuel 2:1

After this, David asked the Lord, “Should I move back to one of the towns of Judah?” The Lord replied. “Yes,” Then David asked, “Which town should I go to?” The Lord answered. “To Hebron.”

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions. Throughout life, we are faced with decisions. Every day, we make decisions, mostly small, but some big. At the end of the day, it will have been our decision-making ability that determined our destiny. Hopefully, our decision making was such that we were able to make wise choices. Only time will tell.

Of course, we will make a few bad ones along the way. We are flawed human beings, after all. Other than Jesus, no one has ever made it through life without making some head-scratching choices. Abraham made a wrong turn to Egypt; Moses hit the rock to add some special effects to his authority when God only told him to speak to it; Joshua made a deal with a foreign group, then asked the Lord to approve it; and David moved to Ziklag, hoping to find safety among the Philistines when Saul was chasing him.

Each of these leaders—flawed human beings one and all—paid for their bad decisions. But each of them learned from their mistakes and went on to have a stellar record in wise and godly decision making. David, in 2 Samuel 2, is a case in point. King Saul has been killed in battle and there was now a leadership void in Israel. Years earlier, Samuel had anointed David to be the next king, although at this point he needed the formality of a national coronation. But that coronation was not to come for years as the nation went through a mad scramble to decide who would sit as ruler over the twelve unified tribes.

As the nation worked about the process, which was ugly for a season, David played it cool. The text gives us some insights as to how David processed the “when, where and how” to assert himself as king:

1. David gave it time: The first thing we read in 2 Samuel 2:1 is, “after this”. He waited. The act of waiting is an essential part of exercising trust in God.
2. David prayed: After waiting and before acting, he asked, “Should I move” here or there. As simple as it sounds, we often skip this essential part of decision making.
3. David listened: After inquiring of the Lord, he waited for him to speak, and “the Lord replied.” God wants to speak to us, that is why he has ordained prayer as the conduit of conversation with his children. But we have to listen.
4. David obeyed: “So David and his wives and his men and their families all moved to Judah, and they settled in the villages near Hebron.” (2 Samuel 2:3) David moved to the city God chose. It is a simple formula to good decision making: pray, then obey.

And it was there at Hebron the nation began to coalesce around his leadership, starting with the tribe of Judah. Through David’s patient, prayerful and obedient processing, God began to work things out for David to become Israel’s most powerful and prophetically important king.

You are facing decisions today. Most of them will be small and seemingly insignificant ones. A few will be big decisions. You might even face a decision that will change the trajectory of your life. Regardless of their size, develop a lifestyle approach to decision-making and the will of God: learn to wait for his timing, ask for him to show you what to do, listen and give him a chance to speak, then quickly and unconditionally obey.

Decisions determine destiny. Follow David’s lead and you will be just fine.