A man is a fool to trust himself! But those who use God’s wisdom are safe.”
Proverbs 28:26 (TLB)
In this series, we’re learning how God takes us through the Six Phases of Faith—a dream, decision, delay, difficulty, dead end, and deliverance—over and over again throughout our lives to grow our faith and develop our character.
The second phase God uses to grow your faith is when you decide to follow the dream you believe God has given you. Nothing happens with your dream until you move forward in faith!
God gave Moses the dream of leading the children of Israel out of 400 years of slavery—but Moses had to make the decision to confront Pharaoh.
God gave Noah the dream of saving the world from the flood—but Noah had to make the decision to build the ark.
God gave Abraham the dream of building a new nation—but Abraham had to make the decision to leave everything and go out into the unknown.
Just like these people in the Bible, you’ll never realize God’s dream for your life until you come to the stage of decision-making and choose to step out in faith.
There is a simple, workable plan for making wise decisions that will keep you on track pursuing God’s dream for your life.
1. Pray for guidance.
Before you do anything else, get God’s perspective on the issue. “A man is a fool to trust himself! But those who use God’s wisdom are safe” (Proverbs 28:26 TLB).
2. Get the facts.
There is no contradiction between faith and fact. Find out everything you can before you make a decision. Proverbs 13:16 says, “All who are prudent act with knowledge” (NIV).
3. Ask for advice.
Talk to somebody who’s made a similar decision and to friends who know your weaknesses. “The more good advice you get, the more likely you are to win” (Proverbs 24:6 GNT).
4. Calculate the cost.
Every decision has a price tag; it may cost you time, money, energy, reputation, talents, or resources. Proverbs 20:25 says, “It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows” (NIV). When people pressure you to make a decision, it’s okay to say, “I’ll get back to you.” It’s more important to make a wise decision than a quick decision.
5. Prepare for problems.
In faith, expect the best. Expect God to work in your life. But also prepare for the problems that are part of every decision. Solomon said in Proverbs 22:3, “A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences” (TLB).
6. Face your fears.
Perfectionism paralyzes potential. God has always used imperfect people in imperfect situations to accomplish his will. Ecclesiastes 11:4 says, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done” (TLB). In spite of your problems, doubts, or fears, trust God and start moving in the direction of your dream.
Globalization and the attendant concerns about poverty and inequality have become a focus of discussion in a way that few other topics, except for international terrorism or global warming, have. Most people have a strong opinion on globalization, and all of them express an interest in the well-being of the world's poor. The financial press and influential international officials confidently assert that global free markets expand the horizons for the poor, whereas activist-protesters hold the opposite belief with equal intensity. Yet the strength of people's conviction is often in inverse proportion to the amount of robust factual evidence they have.As is common in contentious public debates, different people mean different things by the same word. Some interpret "globalization" to mean the global reach of communications technology and capital movements, some think of the outsourcing by domestic companies in rich countries, and others see globalization as a byword for
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