Dealing With Difficult Decisions Part 5 by Martin Wiles

They were old and past the age of having a child, but God promised them one. Unfortunately, Sarah’s impatience led her to give her servant to Abraham in marriage as a surrogate mother.

God wasn’t pleased with the decision. The child was promised to Abraham and Sarah not Abraham and Hagar. In God’s time, Sarah became pregnant and bore the promised child. The elderly couple was ecstatic…until God said, Take your son, your only son…and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains (Genesis 22:2 NLT).

Abraham was faced with a tough decision; one he didn’t quite understand. If Isaac was the promised son, why was God asking him to kill him? Fortunately, he trusted God enough to believe he’d raise his son back to life if he allowed him to be sacrificed.

Confessing known sin makes demanding decisions easier. Abraham and Sarah’s initial decision to help God along was sinful. Recognizing this made the next strenuous decision to sacrifice their son easier. Sin always clouds our decision-making capabilities.

Knowing God allows second chances makes taxing decisions simpler. Abraham wasn’t disqualified because he and Sarah made one wrong decision. Neither are we. Prior dishonorable decisions make the honorable ones more attractive and easier to make.

God’s peace is also an indication we’ve made the correct decision. Abraham probably struggled with the initial decision to sacrifice his son, but once the decision was made God provided faith-based peace. He does the same for us.

Confessing known sin and remembering God’s grace allows God’s peace to permeate our decisions.

Prayer: Merciful God, when our decisions are greater than our ability to make them, give us Your wisdom and peace to choose the right path.