Ever have trouble making decisions?  I do.  I can spend hours agonizing over things that in the end are inconsequential.  Sometimes I am even paralyzed by indecision.

There are occasions, however, when a decision must be made—immediately.  For example, I was at a writer’s conference last week, and the choice of workshops was overwhelming.  Before I left home, I had reviewed the schedule and selected what I thought I would attend.  Faced with the final decisions, though, I ended up in a totally different direction. It was as if the Lord said, “Go this way,” and I very reluctantly followed His lead.

I felt very much like Paul must have felt—on a much smaller scale, of course–when he reached the border of Asia and was redirected to go to Macedonia.  Or Philip who was ministering in Samaria when he was redirected—quite suddenly—to a desert road headed to Ethiopia. Redirects can be unsettling, even scary. Thoughts like “What if I choose the wrong direction, Lord? What if a make a mistake?” always rush through my mind.

Eva Marie Everson, one of the speakers at the conference, pointed out that there are people in the Bible who argued with the Lord, and the consequences were not pleasant!  Take Jacob, for example.  He wrestled with God and ended up walking with a limp.  Or Jonah. He went the wrong way entirely, and he ended up in a cold, dark place for three days!

I do not want to end up with a limp and I don’t want to have to be coughed up out of the belly of a stinking fish.  I want to hear and obey!  Decisions—even little ones—are important!

The bottom line: what if I make a wrong choice? That thought really plagues me.

The real issue, I suppose, is a lack of trust. Paul trusted the Lord and followed his direction without arguing or questioning. He trusted his Divine GPS.

The Scriptures reassure us, I think, that we can relax.  Take Proverbs 19:21, for example.  “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”

I’ve read that verse many times and always found it a bit discouraging. To me it seemed to say that no matter what I planned or chose to do, it really didn’t matter.  The Lord would always have his way.

Much more comforting is my latest interpretation: I can plan and do my best to listen and follow, but if I do make a mistake, the Lord will take care of it—His plans will ultimately prevail.

I am reminded of one of my mother-in-law’s favorite scripture passages, Romans 8:26-28: “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Hallelujah!  I can relax!  I can listen to the Still Small Voice, try to follow, and trust him with the outcome!  What an amazing promise that He is with us, interceding for us, directing and even correcting our paths.  In the end, His purposes will prevail!

Like Paul, who loved the Lord above all else, we can end up in the right place doing the Lord’s will, even if it’s not where we initially thought we should go. Also, though our decisions may seem little ones compared to Paul’s, even those little decisions can have big consequences.  The Lord is interested in the little things and the huge ones.  If he knows how many hairs we have on our heads, he is certainly interested in what we are thinking and what we are doing and where we are planning to do it! (Matthew 10:30)

Faced with a decision—a big one or a little one—I have determined to follow a simple 7 step plan:  Love the Lord. Examine my circumstances. Pray. Listen to the Still Small Voice. Choose. Trust. Relax. Ultimately His purposes will prevail—and that is a very good thing!

This poem by Janet Wallace sums it up quite well:

GOD’S GRACE ENABLES ME

I know it’s the Spirit

Who’s at work within me

‘Cause I don’t do these things by myself.

I have tried, and I’ve tried

But it’s always the same

On my own everything is a mess.

I give praise to my Lord

I give praise to my King

I give glory and honor to God.

For it’s him and not me

This I clearly do see

It’s His grace that enables me.

What about you?  Have any decisions looming? Have any experiences with decision making that   you’d like to share?

I’d love to hear from you!

P.S. My reluctant decision to go in a different direction at the conference turned out to be the right one!  Like the old hymn by John Henry Sammis says, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”