Making The Right Decision (Using God's Wisdom)
By: Kristen L. McNulty
Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.
We often hear the question asked: how do I know what God 's will is for my life? Usually it 's a question we confront when we have a decision before us and we are uncertain of which path we should take. Maybe the question is where to go to school? Or which job should I take? Or who should I date? Or where should I live? I know many times in my life I 've debated which path to take and while there is no magic formula when it comes to making the right choice, I 've learned that we are pretty much guaranteed to make the wrong choice when we ignore three things. They are:
1. What God's Word says when we read it.
2. What God's people say when we ask.
3. And what God indicates when we pray.
Let's look into them in detail.
1. What God's Word says when we read it
The first question we need to ask ourselves is what does God 's Word say about the issues surrounding this decision? If you decide to pursue the job or the relationship or the degree, will you find yourself at odds with the instructions set out in the Bible? If so, then we can know that isn 't what God has for us and we should hit the brakes instead of pursuing it because God will never contradict His Word. But that's usually the problem, isn't it? It's not that we are confused about what God's Word has to say, it's that we know what it says and we don't want to obey. Decisions based on disobedience to God are only going to lead us in the wrong direction time and time again.
2. What God's people say when we ask
Another indicator we can use when trying to make decisions is what God's people say about it when we ask for their input. But we need to be careful that we aren't listening to the entire peanut gallery, but instead, have handpicked the right people to give input that we take seriously. In the book of Proverbs we are told that by associating with wise people, their wisdom is going to rub off on us.
Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. Proverbs 13:20
So who are the wise people in your life? The ones who follow God and who walk according to His wisdom? The ones whose lives aren 't filled with constant train wrecks because of their own poor decision making? Identify these people in your life and ask them for input on the decision in front of you. Because as we are told a few verses earlier:
Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise. Proverbs 13:10
So learn to invite people who are wise to speak into your life, especially when making those big decisions. While no one can make our choices for us, having the perspective of other people who are wise can be so life-giving because often others can see things about our lives and our circumstances that we can become blind to. So don 't overlook the importance of asking for wise counsel.
3. What God indicates when we pray about it
Another important factor we should consider is what God indicates to us when we pray about it. The Bible makes it clear that God does not hold back direction from His children.
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. James 1:5-8
That said, ask God for wisdom. Cover your decision in prayer. In my own life, one of two things happens when I earnestly pray about something. Either I start to feel alarm bells or I start to feel peace. While worry can invade at any moment of our lives, peace is a gift that only comes from God. So when I feel peace even when I don 't know what the next few steps are going to look like, that is not something I ignore. Instead I take peace from God as an indicator to proceed. Like we are taught in Philippians chapter four:
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
So trust God enough to not ignore the answers He could be trying to give you through His word, through His people and through prayer. So often we make the wrong decisions not because we didn 't know they were wrong but because we were too afraid to do what was right. I can recall more than once where that happened in my own life. Don 't let that be your story with this decision or any other you 'll be called on to make in your lifetime. As we are taught in Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6
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