Decisions, Decisions, Decisions . . .

Decisions, decisions, decisions – Stephen Van Rensselaer had a big one to make.  Who was Van Rensselaer?  He was a representative to the Congress from New York.  He had served more than half of his life in politics.  At the age of 25 Van Rensselaer got his first taste of politics as a member of the New York legislature.  Through the years he would serve in the State Senate and be elected to the office of Lt. Governor of New York.

With a background in the military and 36 years of political experience, you would think that Stephen Van Rensselaer would be ready for any issue.  The decision that he had to make seemed easy when he first thought about it.  He had been firmly on one side of a particular argument, but after much debate and discussion, he began to waver.  As the discussions and debates on this important issue dragged on, Van Rensselaer wore down.  He lost his initial confidence.  As he walked into the House of Representatives, the normally adept, fire-tempered decision-maker was on the fence.  The issue facing the House of Representatives was evenly divided.  Van Rensselaer would be the tie-breaking decision-maker.  The heat was on.  On February 9, Van Rensselaer took his seat.  He was still undecided with no place to look . . . but up!  Stephen Van Rensselaer bowed his head low on his desk and prayed.

After a prayer for guidance and help, Van Rensselaer saw something on the floor.  There at his feet was a discarded ballot.  In the heat of voting and debating over the previous few days, someone filled out a ballot and then accidentally dropped it to the floor.  Van Rensselaer took this as a sign from God.  With newfound confidence, he cast the tie-breaking vote.  So, it was by one vote, by one discarded ballot on the floor of Congress, and by a prayer that John Quincy Adams became the 6th President of the United States.

Decisions, decisions, decisions – you make them every day.  Some are big, some are small, all of them need to be made.  On what will we stand? Who will be our guide? I certainly encourage each of us to pray (though I question whether we should pick up scraps of paper and see them as divine signs).  We need to seek God’s guidance.  The best guidance we have is found in the Bible.  God has inspired the Scriptures with all the truth and direction we will ever need.  Whether we are making decisions at work, at home, or somewhere in between, God’s Word tells us what we need to know.  As parents, husbands, wives, and children of God, we need instructions on how to live.  I encourage each of you to immerse yourself in the truth of God.  Keep looking up!