Let Peace Be the Umpire: How to Actually Make Decisions With God

I’m excited about today because everything we’ve built over the last four weeks comes together right here.

This is how I decided to marry my wife. This is how I knew to go on television. This is how I choose between invitations to preach. This is how I make every major decision of my life — and today I’m putting it directly in your hands.

The most important book in history was written because “it seemed good.”

We proved yesterday that Luke wrote an entire book of the Bible — a book humanity will be measured by for eternity — because “it seemed good to me.” Not a burning bush. Not a trip to the third heaven. Not an audible voice. The Spirit bore witness on the inside of him, and he wrote.

But it goes further than that.

For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.

Acts 15:28 NKJV

The entire doctrine for Gentile believers — the very framework every non-Jewish Christian has lived under for two thousand years — was settled because it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to the apostles. The Spirit bore witness to these men, and they recognized it.

That’s not guesswork. That’s the most reliable form of divine communication there is — Spirit to spirit.

Silas changed the course of his life because something “seemed right.”

Here’s one more example, and this one is about the specific will of God for one man’s life.

In Acts 15, Silas had completed his assignment. He was supposed to go back to Jerusalem. But something on the inside of him said to stay.

However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.

Acts 15:34 NKJV

No burning bush. No angel. No prophet walking up and saying, “Thus saith the Lord, Silas, wait here — something massive is about to happen.”

It just seemed right to him. So he stayed.

A few days later, Paul needs a new traveling companion. He chooses Silas — the man who happened to still be there because it seemed right to stay. From that moment, Silas traveled with the man who would write three-quarters of the New Testament and turn the known world upside down.

Silas’s name is recorded in Scripture forever. And the only reason he was in position is because he followed the inward witness.

What if he’d been too busy? What if he’d ignored that subtle sense and gone home? He would have missed the assignment of a lifetime.

A book of the Bible. A doctrine for all Gentiles. A man’s destiny. All settled the same way.

Do you see the pattern? Three massive, history-altering decisions — and none of them came through spectacular, dramatic revelation.

Luke wrote because it seemed good. The apostles settled doctrine because it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to them. Silas stayed because it seemed right.

This is how God predominantly leads His children. Not through brass bands and fireworks. Through His Spirit bearing witness with your spirit — a quiet, settled knowing on the inside of you.

So how do you actually do it? Let peace be the umpire.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Colossians 3:15 NKJV

The Amplified Bible says it this way: “Let the peace of God act as an umpire continually in your hearts, deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds.”

An umpire does one thing. He makes a ruling. Safe or out. That’s it.

The peace of God is your umpire. When you’re facing a decision, you run it across the plate and let the umpire make the call.

Here’s exactly how I do it.

This is practical. This is what I actually do with every major decision.

I was recently asked to go to Africa. Here’s what I did. I said out loud, “I’m going to Africa.” Then I paused and paid attention to what seemed right on the inside of me. Then I said, “I’m not going to Africa.” And I paid attention to how that seemed.

At first, both options might look identical — like those side-by-side pictures where you’re supposed to spot the differences. When you first glance at them, they look the same. But the longer you stare, the more sensitive you become, and the differences start showing up.

That’s what happens here. You say it out loud. You run it across the plate. You listen for the umpire.

“I’m going to marry Terry. I’m not going to marry Terry.”

“I’m taking this job. I’m not taking this job.”

“I’m buying this house. I’m not buying this house.”

Back and forth. Over and over. Sometimes it takes minutes. Sometimes it takes hours. Sometimes it takes days or weeks. But at some point, one of them is going to seem right and the other is going to seem wrong. One will carry more peace than the other. That peace settling with finality over one option — that is the umpire making the call.

The prerequisites are everything we’ve already covered.

Now, this only works if you’ve done the foundation work. You have to want to hear from God. You have to shift to neutral — you can’t walk in with your agenda screaming. You have to be operating in the integrity of your heart and innocence of your hands. And you have to know the Word of God well enough that if peace settles over something that contradicts Scripture, you know it’s not God.

You don’t come into this with emotions blazing. You don’t come in having already decided and hoping God rubber-stamps it. You come in neutral, honest, and willing — and then you let the umpire do His job.

If it can write Scripture, it can guide your Tuesday.

A man wrote a book of the Bible this way. The doctrine for every Gentile believer was settled this way. A man’s destiny was redirected this way. You can make your next decision this way too.

Start today. Start with something simple. Run it across the plate and listen for the umpire. The more you practice, the more sensitive you’ll become. The more sensitive you become, the clearer the call gets.

This is what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. Not chasing the spectacular. Not waiting for angels and burning bushes. Just a son who knows his Father’s peace — and follows it.

Let peace be the umpire. Run it across the plate. Fight To Win.