The Apple or the Orange: The Professionals Bible

 

We are not Robots. We all have the ultimate freedom - the freedom of choice.

“Thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee” (Moses 3:17).

As did Adam, we are also free to choose between good and bad and live our life the way we choose to. These choices reflect both in our professional and personal lives. I can choose to make good decisions or bad decisions for both. 

God has given us this gift of free will, the freedom to choose. Why? Because He would have us as His children, not as His slaves or robots. God created humanity in the image of Himself and called them to partner with Him in expanding his creation. But partnership requires trust, so God trusted us and gave humanity the freedom to choose. 

So, we can either choose to work and live with God, following His wisdom or we can choose to live our life, according to our minds and heart. Sadly, humans often make the choice to trust their own wisdom over God’s, and our own understanding while making choices.  Like Uriah Heep said (in Choices) " we all make our choices, Like a blind man feels his way.....". Come to think of it, that is exactly what we do, because we do not have a vision of the future nor can we change the past. 

But those who do consult God in their business or personal life, do eventually end up with the right choice. So how do we do that? 

Ask yourself these two questions as you consider decision-making - 

• When did you last seek God’s wisdom regarding any choice you were faced with AND gave God time to revert to you? 

• How often could you or perhaps should you, seek God’s wisdom? 

If we do that, we are not only growing in wisdom through biblical values or advice, we are also creating wisdom-building moments in our business and into our life. This is the key to our growth as a leader at home or at work. 

Now how do we do that? The question is - Do I really trust God with this problem or this choice? Or are we doubtful we may not like His answer. 

Today, the choice we have is not between a good decision or a bad one. The Choice always is this:  a Bad decision or God's wisdom. 

The moot question is do we really believe Him and trust Him in ALL aspects of our life? A lot of us will be surprised by an honest answer. 

And if we do believe and trust Him, then let's believe in this verse as well and make that choice.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" 

The Leap of Faith: The Professionals Bible

 

Sometimes, challenges can lead us to complete inactivity and paralyses. We do not know what to do or where to go. This is not new. Read 1 Samuel Chapter 14 to see what I mean.

Saul was paralyzed and sort of gave up fighting the Philistines because they outnumbered him and had superior war technology.  

But while he sat under a tree in dejection, surrounded by his six hundred men, Jonathan decided to take some action. He reasoned with himself and his armor carrier, in complete logic built on his faith in God's promises, on why and how he could possibly defeat the Philistines alone, only assisted by his armor carrier. It is worthy to note that the carrier did not flinch from his duty, and supported Jonathan verbally and in action.

From all human aspects, Jonathan took a leap of faith, supported only by his belief.

How many times are we faced with similar hopeless situations and succumb to inaction like Saul?

Jonathan lays out the perfect example of battling our own fears, by going ahead with complete trust in God. In time of trouble, we all have our confidantes and armor men, and if they are believers, their support is all the more powerful. But above all, it's God we should trust and take that leap of faith, not blindly but following Godly wisdom as Jonathan did.

This story has a very engaging analyses and can be found here https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1-samuel-14/ and I would really urge everyone to read this.

The Professionals Bible: The Leap of Faith

Sometimes, challenges can lead us to complete inactivity and paralyses. We do not know what to do or where to go. This is not new. Read 1 Samuel Chapter 14 to see what I mean.

Saul was paralyzed and sort of gave up fighting the Philistines because they outnumbered him and had superior war technology.  

But while he sat under a tree in dejection, surrounded by his six hundred men, Jonathan decided to take some action. He reasoned with himself and his armor carrier, in complete logic built on his faith in God's promises, on why and how he could possibly defeat the Philistines alone, only assisted by his armor carrier. It is worthy to note that the carrier did not flinch from his duty, and supported Jonathan verbally and in action.

From all human aspects, Jonathan took a leap of faith, supported only by his belief.

How many times are we faced with similar hopeless situations and succumb to inaction like Saul?

Jonathan lays out the perfect example of battling our own fears, by going ahead with complete trust in God. In time of trouble, we all have our confidantes and armor men, and if they are believers, their support is all the more powerful. But above all, it's God we should trust and take that leap of faith, not blindly but following Godly wisdom as Jonathan did.

This story has a very engaging analyses and can be found here https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1-samuel-14/ and I would really urge everyone to read this.