Tough Decisions Acts 7:59

59And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.


Life is the result of the decisions that we make. Stephen made the decision to stand for God; it cost him his life. Stephen knew that standing for the Lord was worth dying for. The old saying, "He who stands for nothing will fall for anything" certainly rings true. Stephen lived his life with the conviction that Jesus was the Messiah and that he died and was gloriously resurrected and Jesus Christ was Lord and Master of his life! Stephen did not give his life for some hoax that the disciples had thought up to start some Christian movement. He died because of a personal conviction, "He Lives"!

As we live our lives and make decisions on a daily basis, we will encounter a number of situations and circumstances that will affect our lives as it did Stephen's. Many of those circumstances will be beyond our control. However, our response to those circumstances will still be our responsibility! One of the toughest aspects of life involves the decisions that we make. Each decision that we make determines the circumstances that we are most likely to face tomorrow and the day after that. Stephen knew what was about to happen. He calculated the cost and he determined to stand for God no matter what.

The question for the hour is this, "What happens when we fail to count the cost and we make bad decisions which affect the situations and circumstances that come tomorrow anyway?" The real test of life involves our decisions. The Source of life is God. He is our Strength. He is our Sustainer. He is the Answer to the questions of life. When we do things His way, He is able to affect the circumstances and situations that come before us. If we decide to do things our way, we run the risk of facing situations that will make our lives miserable. We run the risk of facing circumstances that will no doubt be costly to us.

Prayer helps us make the right decisions. People try to make good decisions. However, a good decision can be a bad decision if it robs us of what God has in store for us. Paul tells us to pray without ceasing. We need to pray without ceasing because we are always making decisions. Tough decisions are easier to make when we look to the Lord before we make those decisions. When God guides our decisions, He becomes responsible for the outcome of our circumstances. God will give us victory on His terms.

Victory does not always come in the ways we might expect it to come. Stephen prayed, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Even in death, Stephen surrendered himself to the Lord and trusted God completely. ." Even in death, the choices we make are important; the responses we give today determine the quality of life we experience in the next moment as well as the rest of our lives! Let us determine to live for Him, making decisions that will give Him the opportunity determine our immediate future as well as our eternal destiny!