While submerged in water, submariners must employ and trust their lives to a complicated navigational system to avoid colliding with underwater structures or other vessels. Over the course our life, every one of us also employs a navigational system for making decisions–often decisions that are very important. The default navigation system we all use early in life is that of the worlds. It is, as it were, a “worldly navigational system.” it is based on moral and ethical worldly values which are shifting over time, and often conflict with God’s holiness.
Difficult decision –
Back in the day in my early academic career, I was striving to obtain tenure. Faculty were given no more than six years in which to be tenured. Failure to obtain tenure resulted in termination of employment with the university. Award of tenure was weighted heavily on academic productivity evidenced by publication of research in prestigious medical journals. It was “publish or perish.” Generation of research data to publish is costly, requiring the award of research grants from outside agencies. My first research grant was a small award from a national health organization. However, I informed the organization I was submitting the identical grant to a federal granting agency as a duplicate and agreed I would return their money if I received the federal grant. On receiving the federal grant for a much larger award, I mentioned to one of my colleagues my plan to return the money in the smaller award to the first granting agency. The person was aghast, telling me that I needed the money from both grants, and no one would ever know. I was in a crossroads, facing a difficult decision. I needed the financial support to perform the research to obtain tenure. Do I keep both awards?
God’s provision for making difficult decisions –
The operating system that guided me in this decision was not that of of the worlds–it was God’s navigational system. Let me explain. I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior eight years earlier. When we accept Jesus Christ in faith (see Ephesians 2:8 & 9) we begin to grow in God’s navigation system. First, and foremost, we receive the promised Holy Spirit at the moment of faith in Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit then transforms our operating system from the world’s system to His. Through the Holy Spirit, we are linked to Jesus Christ when we receive Him in faith. God told us, “The Lord Himself goes before you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:8, NASB). Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12 NASB).
The Holy Spirit also uses the other means of grace God has given us for navigation. He gives us prayer to communicate with God, and even when we don’t know what to pray for, the Holy Spirit offers up prayers for us (see Romans 8:26). He also uses God’s Word, the Bible, to show us His will for our lives for navigation. If the Bible is to have such authority over our lives, we must have a “high view” of Scripture. There are four pillars of belief that are essential for this:
- Scripture is literally the Word of God (see 1 Thessalonians 2:13)
- It is without error (see Psalm 119:160)
- It will last forever (i.e., it is eternal, see Isaiah 40:8)
- It is unchanging (see Matthew 5:17)
God’s Word not only gives us tremendous insight into God’s will for our lives, it also gives us wisdom. Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge. Scripture tells us that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God (see Proverbs 9:10).
The other thing that God gives us as part of His means of grace to navigate is each other, fellow brothers and sisters who follow Him. His Word exhorts us to warn each other every day lest we become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (see Hebrews 3:13). Being a “lone ranger” Christ-follower is a dangerous proposition. God has provided fellow brothers and sisters for our spiritual benefit, for iron sharpens iron (see Proverbs 27:17).
What was the outcome of whether to return the grant award. In Proverbs 11:1-3 proclaims, “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight. When pride comes, then comes dishonor, but with the humble is wisdom. The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them” (NASB). I promptly turned in the award to the local organization. It was never even close. And I was blessed with tenure within the allotted time frame.
There are numerous life challenges since then that God’s navigational system has reliably guided me through.