Do you ever wish God would come down and tell you exactly what He wants you to do?
I remember feeling that way five years ago when I first considered writing a Bible study on emotional eating.
I kept waiting for a sign – or at least a feeling – that He wanted me to write the book. I never got it. In the end I wrote the study out of gratefulness to God for what He had done in my life and a desire to help others.
It wasn’t until later that I realized what I really wanted from God was a guarantee that my time wouldn’t be wasted – that it would be worth the effort in terms of lives changed and books sold.
No wonder God didn’t give me confirmation.
Too often we say we want to know God’s will, but what we really want is a guarantee that life will be good. Or that our efforts won’t be in vain. At other times, we really do want to know God’s will but we have a hard time seeing what His will is.
Here are a few questions that I hope will help for either situation. Write the answers in your journal and see what God says to you as you write:
Decision Making Worksheet
- Why are you having a hard time making this decision?
- Are you caring about the same things God cares about? Explain.
- Do you have enough information to make a good decision?
- If not, what information do you need to gather?
- Are you doing this because it’s expected of you, or do you actually think it’s a good thing to do?
- What are your other options?
- Does the Bible speak at all to your decision?
- Yes: If so, what does it say? Are you willing to do what the Bible says even if you have to sacrifice to do it?
- No: If not, does God give you the freedom to make your own decision?
- Do you think God would prefer one choice over another? If so, why?
- How will you know if you’ve made a good decision? (Remember, the idea that you should expect everything in life to go smoothly is an American concept, not a biblical concept.)
- Is this one of those situations where you can’t really know what’s best?
- What’s the worst thing that can happen if you make what appears to be the wrong decision?
- Can God redeem bad decisions?
- What will have to sacrifice or accept to make this decision and not keep second-guessing yourself?
- What can you thank God for in this situation? (Note: Once you make your decision, focus on being thankful for the good things about the option you chose.)
Possible things you’ll need to accept with decisions: That you can’t always make perfect decisions, that you can’t always know what’s best, that you can’t always make everyone happy, and that you can’t guarantee a good outcome to your decisions (in other words, no matter how hard you work, you might not get the results you want).
Possible things you’ll need to confess with decisions: Caring more about other things (comfort, wonderful lifestyle, relationships, easy life, etc.) than you do about God, a self-focused, indulgent approach to life.
Beyond the Sinner's Prayer 
Sometimes, I think we need to just make a decision. I think that being double-minded and undecided is a dangerous place. Sometimes, we can’t exactly make a wrong decision. God wants us to simply commit and then let Him work in that. As long as we are riding the fence, we are not fully committing, which is often what I think He wants. Of course, many decisions have a right and wrong course, but I don’t think they all do.
I agree, Kari – waiting to make the “perfect” decision can drive us crazy! Unfortunately, I know that from experience.
Another great post- thank you!
Pretty sure you stepped into my mind as you wrote the opening to this post.
Haha – out of my mind and into yours. I’m guessing a lot of people have experienced this before.
Very good insights. I just wrote on my blog about how plans become formulas and thus turn into idols. Very comparable thoughts here of yours, Barb, thanks. http://www.KathyCollardMiller.blogspot.com
Thanks for commenting, Kathy – I like your post on plans. It seems like we can make idols of anything, doesn’t it? I love the quote from Francis Chan’s book that you included in your post.
Excellent questions, Barb! I think we too often make lists of advantages and disadvantages then forget to include God in our decision making. I especially appreciated the question, “Can God redeem bad decisions?” YES! Fear of the unknown can keep us from moving forward, but God’s grace is constant. Sometimes we just need to DO SOMETHING. Your questions are great in helping us get to that step. Thanks!!
I like that question too, Deb – it always reminds me that God is ultimately in charge and can bring good things from my mistakes, poor choices, and even good choices that result in trials. God is so brilliant and loving to set up a system where He gives us free will and then redeems our poor choices when we go to Him for help.
“Too often we say we want to know God’s will, but what we really want is a guarantee that life will be good.” – so many times i have found this to be true! I find myself chasing comforts and assurances, all cloaked and hidden under the cloak of ‘seeking God’s very best’. thanks for sharing this.
You and me both – and the funny thing is that I keep finding over and over again that God’s very best is often found in the not very best situations in life. You’d think I’d learn!
yeah, the plan always works out differently than expected! So glad He doesn’t give up on me and patiently re-teaches 🙂
This is a great list of questions, but the one thing I would add is a question about the counsel of others. What do others that you respect think about your potential decisions? This isn’t because you want their praise obviously, but because godly counsel is such a benefit to us as we make wise decisions.
Yes, that’s a great one, Loren. It definitely should be added! Thanks for the input.