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35,000. According to a general consensus among neuroscience researchers, this is the amount of decisions that the average adult will make per day. This means that every two seconds, most of us are having to make another decision. While we cherish our freedom of choice, and bemoan those who make decisions for which we do not agree, all of this incessant decision-making can be exhausting. Perhaps this is why families across the land will sit in stupefied silence when the all-important question is asked, “Where are we going to eat?” At some point, we just want someone else to decide! Even more difficult than deciding how to fill our bellies, we daily encounter decisions which will inevitably, and perhaps very seriously, affect the moments that follow. In writing Proverbs, Solomon asserted, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12). The matter was weighty enough to Solomon, that by the Spirit’s leading, he would express this same point exactly verbatim again in Proverbs 16:25. Not only are our decisions eternally important, but we are forewarned of how woefully wrong we so often can be in our decision-making.
We are constantly bombarded with information by which any decision can be made. Yet, we live in a world that has set itself against true wisdom (Colossians 2:8), we have an enemy who cannot but lie to us (John 8:44), and we have a natural sinful bent toward choosing the wrong (Jeremiah 17:9). With the cards stacked against us to such a degree, how can any of us be confident in our decision-making? To what source can we definitively turn so that our choices might lead to life, both for us and the people we influence? Certainly, for those in Christ, we have been given a new heart (Ezekiel 36:26) and a new mind (1 Corinthians 2:16). The Holy Spirit indwells believers so that we can be led by God to be wise (1 Corinthians 2:12). Yet, rather than the Spirit speaking to us in some mystical or intangible means (a.k.a. “I felt God leading me”), God speaks to us definitively through the Bible. As we read and meditate upon Scripture, God changes our thinking so that we literally know what decisions God would have us take (Romans 12:2). Of course, thousands of decisions we make each day (like “What color socks should I wear?”) are inconsequential. Other decisions (like “Should I brush my teeth?”) are hopefully obvious! But for those thousands of important decisions, how can I make certain that I am allowing God’s Word to lead?
I must confess that when it comes to the study of God’s Word, I am often slow in understanding. I liken my dullness to one lady in the following story:
Two sisters, one bright, one not so bright, inherit the family ranch. Unfortunately, after just a few years, they are in financial trouble. In order to keep the bank from repossessing the ranch, they need to purchase a bull from a stockyard in another city so they can breed their own stock instead of buying yearlings to raise. They only have six hundred dollars to spend.
Upon leaving, the “brains” sister tells the “dull” sister, “When I get there, If I decide to buy the bull, I’ll contact you to drive out after me and haul the bull home.”
She arrives at the stockyard, inspects the bull, and decides she wants to buy him. The stockyard owner tells her that the bull is $599 and he is firm on the price. She pays him and tells him she is going into town to contact her sister to bring the trailer to haul the bull home.
She walks into the general store and asks how she would be able to get a message to her sister that she needs her to come and pick up the bull she just bought at the stockyard. The store owner says, “The only way you can do that is to send a telegram and it will cost a dollar a word.” After paying for the bull, she only has a dollar left and realizes that she can only afford to send her sister one word.
After a few minutes, she nods and says, “I want you to send her the word ‘comfortable’.
The operator shakes his head and says, “How is she ever going to know that you need her to come pick up a bull with just the word ‘comfortable’?
The sister explains, “My sister is not so bright. The word is big, so she’ll read it slowly…com-for-da-bull.”
When describing the immeasurable value of God’s Word, the psalmist expressed it in this simple manner as it relates to our daily lives: “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors” (Psalm 119:24). God promises that His Word will guide us, but how can we be certain that we have clarity in our understanding as we read? The following prayers from Scripture are ones in which I incorporate in my own daily reading of the Bible. These can help guide us in receiving everything from God’s Word that He intends to give.
God, incline my heart to Your Word.
“Incline my heart to your testimonies…” (Psalm 119:36). Our hearts desire many things, yet is made for only One. It is good for us to ask God to make us desire Him and His truth to the exclusion of all others.
God, open the eyes of my heart, that I may see wonderful things in Your Word.
“Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). Too often, we are blinded to the wonderful truths of God’s Word. We must ask God to help us to plainly recognize and cherish these.
God, unite my heart, so that I am solely devoted to Your Word.
“Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name” (Psalm 86:11). Our hearts can easily be divided between many masters. Yet, God demands our full obedience. It is not enough to read God’s Word; we must do what it says.
God, let me be satisfied in Your Word alone.
“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14). Satisfaction and joy come only in the presence of God. God longs to meet our needs and have us find every delight in Him.
These are prayers that God’s Word declares He will most certainly answer! I invite you to make these a part of your own walk with God as you seek Him in His Word. There is much about the Bible that is baffling, but God has given it to us so that we might know Him. So, be “com-for-da-bull” in that!
Jason