How do we know if we’re making the right decision?

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man with head in hands/decisions

How do we know if we are making the right decisions? Can we know?

Sometimes it’s easy.

Sometimes, it’s so easy. Our circumstances, God’s word, and the leading by the Holy Spirit, all come plainly into view. We just know.

 I love times like that.

I’ve always found decisions easy to make for the most part. I hold the opinion that making no decision is making a decision.

No decision is a decision.

But then there are other times

When we facilate

But then there are those times when we exhaust every possible avenue in our “tired-of-thinking-it through” mind. We’ve thought through every possible angle, read every possible Scripture verse that applies, been praying for days.

We’ve decided one way and then another and found justification to support both opposing views. We’ve felt great peace and then no peace.

When we can’t be sure

There are some choices we will simply never be sure about. Even if everything turns out o.k.

And even when it doesn’t, it may not mean we made the wrong one. No amount of Monday morning quarterbacking will make it any clearer either.

That’s why sometimes we just have to choose.

Unless God makes it clear I’m heading down the wrong path, I go on the assumption that my process has been directed by God and my decision meets with his approval.

My daily wisdom prayer

A daily prayer that I pray for me and those on my prayer list is that God gives me, and them, wisdom for whatever comes my way. God promises that wisdom is ours for the asking and I always ask. Then I go about my day believing that the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer is directing me.

When I look back over the decisions I’ve made during the years, I feel a certain sense of confidence.

Peace isn’t necessarily a feeling

False peace

Often Christians refer to having “peace.” But there is such a thing as a “false” peace. We can talk ourselves right into a feeling that mimics peace but it’s not the peace that comes from God. Jesus said there is his peace and then there’s the peace that comes from the world.

The peace that comes from God is almost never accompanied by a feeling. It’s more of quiet confidence that he is in control because we’ve asked him to be.

God never says doing the right thing or making the right decision will always be accompanied by positive feelings. In issues of faith, we too often let our emotions get in the way.

Most of us try to do the right thing. Sometimes we do; sometimes we don’t. We can feel good about the first and we can learn from the second.

Neutral decisions

Some are neutral.

It’s really not earth-shattering, is it, if we choose sweet potatoes over white potatoes. It’s not that important whether or not we complete an unimportant task today or tomorrow. Many choices are just not worthy of a lot of thought. Many can put them on auto-pilot.

Some decisions can hurt others

And sometimes our right decision can negatively impact someone else. I always find that hard, when the right decision on our part can be hurtful to someone else. But it can be. Anytime we decide on a “no” to something or someone, feelings can be hurt.

There is no getting around those times, however. It is going to happen. It will also happen to us.

(While this is not a post about depression, decision-making plays a huge role in our battle against this illness.)

The most important lesson

I think the most important lesson to learn about decision-making, is that:

We are always making decisions. We make choices every day, every minute. The more we are aware that we are doing this, the more likely we will make good choices/decisions.

God has given us everything we need to know to make right decisions. When we don’t, it’s almost always because we have stifled God’s voice.

A Sample prayer

“Lord, make me wise today. Help me make good and right decisions. Help me put mercy first. Help me be wise with financial decisions. Help me make the best use of all you have generously provided, my time, my talent, and all my resources. “

How do you make decisions?

God bless and have a good day.

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