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Do Not Depart

Encouragement and Tools to Abide in God's Word

You are here: Home / Encouragement to Abide / You need to decide! Five scriptures to the rescue

You need to decide! Five scriptures to the rescue

May 25, 2011 by Lisa Burgess 20 Comments

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How many decisions do you make in a day?

You breeze through most without much thought. But occasionally one will paralyze you.

You want to make the God-honoring choice, if only you knew what that was! You’ve already prayed and prayed (right?). But now you’re stuck.

What do you do next?

Here are five principles from scripture that help:

1. Tune out distractions and tune in God’s voice

The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
~ Psalm 119:130

Ask yourself if the world is shouting so loudly—through the internet, TV, shopping malls, friends, etc.—that it’s drowning out God’s answer to your prayer. First, turn off ungodly influences (Romans 12:2).

Then, press in hard to hear God.

If your hearing has gone bad from poor spiritual habits, build those back up. Search the scriptures for biblical principles that apply to your dilemma. Use reference tools to study verses in full context. Look for God’s character in the stories you read and see how you can best mirror His character with the choice you need to make.

2. Seek godly counsel from others

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
~ Proverbs 19:20

After you’re internally preached the Word to yourself, listen to external preaching from godly mentors around you. Who in your church has walked this path? Has God intentionally placed someone in your path? Is there a mature Christian in your family who can advise you? Are there experts in the field—in person, in print—that can give you additional information?

After receiving this extra input, ask God again for clarity in sorting through it.

Look for threads of similar advice and principles that you may have overlooked in your initial thinking.

3. Narrow down your choices

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
~ Colossians 3:17

After laying out your options, cross out the ones least likely to honor God, and circle the ones that could bring Him the most glory. Humbly confront your motives: do certain choices appeal more to YOU than to Him (James 4:3)? Eliminate options that are more about saving face and keeping control than about pleasing the Father.

Remember: choices that honor Him will ultimately be in your best interest too.

If certain choices are time-contingent, and the pace seems out of God’s timing—either too rushed or too prolonged—discard those as well. While waiting on the Lord may be difficult (Psalm 27:14), He can build up your strength during the wait (Isaiah 40:31). And His outcomes are always worth waiting for.

4. Do something

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
~ James 1:22

On the other hand, if you’re only waiting because you’re too scared to act, set fear aside and step out in faith (Joshua 1:9).

If you’ve sought God through prayer, Bible study, godly counsel, and appropriate pacing, place your confidence in Him and quit delaying the decision. Just make it! Trust that God is true to His word—you ask in faith for wisdom; He generously supplies it (James 1:5-6).

He is more than willing and able to accomplish His works through you (Philippians 1:6).

5. Give thanks for the results He’ll bring

The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
~ Psalm 28:7

Instead of second-guessing the decision you’ve now made, give thanks for it. Look forward to how God will bless it. Believe that He will work good out of your choice (Romans 8:28). Rest in the peace He’s sent you to guard your heart and mind (Philippians 4:6-7).

As you enhance your spiritual sensitivity to follow God’s guidance, making decisions still may not always come easily, but you can grow in your confidence that the Lord is leading you.

He will bless your obedience as you strive to honor Him with your choices.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
~ Proverbs 3:5-6

What about you?

Do you have a hard decision you’re trying to make right now?
What helps you decide when you don’t know what to do?
Are there special scriptures you turn to? Please share!

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About Lisa Burgess

Lisa looks for God in ordinary people and in everyday moments, then shares where she finds Him on her blog LisaNotes.com. She is a wife to Jeff and a mother to two girls here, one in heaven.

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A God I Cannot Understand

Comments

  1. Katie says

    May 25, 2011 at 8:26 am

    Thank you, Lisa, for an amazing post. Great, biblical advice!

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      May 25, 2011 at 9:05 am

      Isn’t it wonderful how God doesn’t leave us without guidance? There are SO many wonderful scriptures to help us when we’re trying to decide things.

      Reply
  2. Rambling Heather says

    May 25, 2011 at 8:50 am

    Thanks for this post, such words of wisdom here!

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      May 25, 2011 at 9:09 am

      Thanks, Heather. I’m working hard today on # 1 and # 5.

      Reply
  3. lara says

    May 25, 2011 at 9:07 am

    Great tips, Lisa!

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      May 25, 2011 at 9:13 am

      Lara, I appreciated your post yesterday about being aware that we live in a loud world. The enemy definitely uses distraction to lure us away from hearing the voice of our Father. So thankful He gives us Himself to focus on–the one thing.

      Reply
  4. Kristi says

    May 25, 2011 at 2:03 pm

    Loving this so much!!! Clear and concise and in line with the Word!!!!

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      May 25, 2011 at 4:45 pm

      Thanks, Kristi. Aren’t we so blessed to have the Word???

      Reply
  5. Kristi says

    May 25, 2011 at 2:59 pm

    Just testing my gravatar:)

    Reply
    • Katie says

      May 25, 2011 at 3:22 pm

      You got it! It recognizes by email, so if you have a few addresses, be sure to add them all to your gravatar account!

      Reply
  6. Our Family for His Glory says

    May 25, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    What wonderful tips! Thanks so much for sharing, Lisa!
    Jessica

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      May 25, 2011 at 4:44 pm

      You are welcome! I thank the Lord for so lovingly wanting to guide us in everything.

      Reply
  7. marygems says

    May 26, 2011 at 1:39 am

    God is amazing in His timing- I needed this post SO MUCH today! Thankyou to God and YOU.
    Seeking to honour God in the midst of heart-ache as my church changes radically in a way that makes me want to RUN~!
    Wanting above all to honour Him too.
    Blessings Lisa.

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      May 26, 2011 at 10:03 am

      Oh, I just love when God does special things with timing. So glad that He used the blog to minister to you just when you needed it. Heartaches in our churches are some of the hardest ones to deal with. Praying for you.

      Reply
  8. Jennifer says

    May 26, 2011 at 9:47 pm

    Thank you so much for this post. I needed this very much. My husband and I have a very important decision to make. We have two options and one is very risky and the other is safe yet unsure. I am just seeking the Lord, and this was a great encourager!
    Jen

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      May 26, 2011 at 10:07 pm

      Jen,
      Joining you in prayer right now as you seek the Lord for his guidance. May your decision bring him great honor!

      Reply
  9. Betsey says

    July 11, 2011 at 3:43 am

    This is the perfect way to break down this informatoin.

    Reply
  10. Scott Field says

    June 24, 2013 at 10:51 pm

    Lisa;
    Thank you so much for such a wonderful devotion about decisions. I am using your site for this week’s cribbage lesson. God is using our church to create biblical communities based around hobbies and fun activities called Journey Groups. They’re only 3 months long, so it’s just right for getting people involved in learning more about God and serving others. I have been tying biblical principles into the game of cribbage like: God’s plan for our salvation, counting blessings consistently, trusting in God with our decisions, and so forth.
    Blessings from Houston, Texas.

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      June 28, 2013 at 9:08 pm

      Your Journey Groups sound like a wonderful way to build community. I’m honored you might include this info in your cribbage game. Would love to be there for that week. :-)

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 5 scriptures for making decisions says:
    July 7, 2014 at 6:00 am

    […] revised from the archives originally posted at Do Not Depart […]

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