Do Your Best: Honoring God With our Decisions

Autumn is in full swing where I live. Just a few days ago, I returned from a short trip to West Virginia. Close to home, at least, it's some of the finest fall foliage you'll see. Everywhere you look, there are forests full of reds and golds, and every shade in between. In the hollows between mountains, beautiful waterfalls, full from recent storms, flow down steep gorges, seemingly disappearing into the deep, dark rivers below. Meanwhile, on any given morning, you might find fog hovering gently over the open valleys. It's a stunning and ethereal place this time of year.

But with all of that beauty, it can be hard to decide what to photograph. I find that, as a photographer, one of the greatest challenges is simply choosing what it is you're going to shoot—and sticking with it. Do I go for the open vistas, the mountaintop views with epic skies and bold, dramatic compositions? Or do I pursue the subtler, more intimate images? Do I try to tell the smaller, quieter stories?

Even more, the weather in one area may be ideal, but what is it over the hill, in the next valley? The weatherman says fog, or maybe the potential for stunning clouds, but how accurate is it? And where exactly do I need to be? One example from my trip: I knew there would be fog, but I couldn't be sure where it would be at its best. The day prior, I had scouted two shots I knew I wanted to take again (but with mist). The place I was staying was filled with dense, dramatic fog. But I chose to seek out the shots I had already composed. If conditions were right, I knew I had them in the bag. But when I arrived at the first of the two, the fog was not nearly as good as it was back where I was staying. It wasn't bad, but perhaps I chose poorly. Betting on the weather staying around for a while (and the rain holding off), I moved on to shot number two. As I drove up and over the mountain, the air cleared somewhat, and the clouds seemed to lift. A bit of concern came over me, but I was already here. I might as well see what this shot would look like. While the weather wasn't what I wanted, I still like the image I came away with.

While I would have appreciated a tad more mist, I like the simple composition of these two deciduous trees with their bright yellow leaves, contrasted with the evergreens and bare trees.

In other words, there were a million choices to make, and any one of them could be "wrong". Choose the mountaintops, but miss dramatic fog in the valley. Choose the waterfall, and miss a stunning sunrise. There was the potential for any of these to be wrong.

Or was there?

Many times during the trip, I thought of that old song, "Love the one you're with."

Now, I'm not advocating for whatever the message of the song is, just that that one line made a bit of sense. I really could only do the best I could. I could only focus on the place I was at, not worry about where I wasn't. There was nothing morally wrong with choosing one spot over the other. I just had to do the best I could with the information and knowledge that was available to me. I had to "love the one (location) I was with", as it were. If I chose wisely, great. If I chose poorly, at least I could say I tried. Doing my best and failing was better than sitting in the trailer twiddling my thumbs.

Last week, I shared an ACBC podcast about indecisiveness. It's, in my opinion, one of the biggest struggles for believers, at least at some points in their lives. We desire to be in God's will; we want to do what He has planned for us. The older I get, the clearer it seems that (sometimes anyway) it is less about what we do but how we do it.

Now, the important caveat. I am not talking about issues of sin. God's desire is never for us to sin. If you have to sin to do something that you feel "led" to do, then you are not being led by God. In this article, I'm talking about choosing between good and, well, good.

There are many factors, of course. Is it wise? What are the results of this decision versus that decision? God has given us resources to help us in making decisions. Over the years, I have learned from others and by my own experience what to look for in the weather. That doesn't come to anyone instantly. It comes from being open to advice and seeking out help and knowledge. Similarly, God has given us other believers to help us. Most importantly, He has given us His Spirit and His Word. But ultimately, it comes to a point where you simply must (prayerfully) choose and do your best with whatever decision you make—seeking to honor God in the decision. And don't forget, we're to trust Him with the results.

Yes, you might miss the beautiful sunrise, but did you learn something about weather that will help you in the future? Or maybe you got to the mountaintop and saw a valley shrouded in mist; you got an amazing shot of the sun rising over the dense, low clouds and fog, but you missed a composition you made in the valley earlier that needed that fog. In all of it, there is something to be learned, a way to grow, and most importantly, a way to honor God.

This is one of the hardest blogs for me to write, because I struggle so deeply with this in my own life at times. But what an honor it is that God let me go here, and hopefully learn a little bit about His will for me in the process.

Ultimately, I chose the intimate, smaller stories. It sounds a bit prideful, but I went with what I wanted to. Not what I felt others expected, but the stories I wanted to explore. No, I'm not saying we should always do only what we want. Just that, God does give us desires, and it's okay to follow those when they're honoring to Him, and we're doing the things that He has clearly spelled out for us to do in His Word. When our desires can honor God, may we seek them out—with counsel and wisdom, led by His Spirit and His Word—and do our best with what God gives us. Let us, by His leading, do our best with the decisions we have to make.

Who knows, you might come away with the best photograph ever. Either way, you'll definitely come away with something good when you honor God.