If you find yourself overcome with anxiety about making the wrong decisions. If you’re frozen with uncertainty and thus unable to make a decision at all. If you change your mind out of worry that you don’t make good choices, so you’re constantly dizzy going back and forth on what to do. If you hate the fact that you’re indecisive, yet you don’t know any other way to be, this video is for you. The lives we live are made up of the decisions we make, so in today’s video, I’m sharing four steps to take to make wise decisions without regret, indecisiveness, and stress. Enjoy!

Do you have a difficult time making decisions? Does indecisiveness leave you frustrated and consumed with uncertainty? Everyone wants to have options, but at some point, a decision must be made, and the more options you have, the more difficult decision-making can be. This is why the Bible instructs us to seek wisdom and to be discerning.  

In this video, you will learn:

•  The cause of your indecisiveness.
•  The first step you must take to make good decisions.
•  4 questions to ask yourself to know if you’re making wise choices. 

A few weeks ago, I was making a very important decision for Beloved Women, and I was overcome with indecisiveness. I would make a decision, and then an hour later or a day later, I would change my mind and I would switch. I would talk myself out of the decision that I made, and then I would make another decision, and then I would talk myself out of that.

It was just so much back and forth on deciding what I actually wanted to do and sticking to one decision. It was absolutely exhausting. Then I came across James 1:5-6 which says:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:5-6 ESV)

This verse completely described me at the time. The back and forth, the up and down, and being pushed around by overthinking and worry. It also revealed the root of my indecision: a lack of faith. I was trying to make the perfect decision to give me the chance to get a perfect result. The truth is, there are no perfect results in life. There's no perfect life at all here in this fallen world. Ultimately, we have to ask ourselves, can I make this decision and live with it, whether it works out or doesn't, and that's a really hard thing to do sometimes. However, it becomes easier when we choose to have faith in God, not our ability to make perfect decisions, but His ability to work through the decisions that we make.

Now, I'm not talking about decisions of morality. Should I sin, or should I not? In those situations, you know what you need to do. That’s not a matter of indecision but disobedience. In this video, I'm talking about day-to-day decisions that we make for our households, for our families, what we want to do, and any other choice that we’re not completely clear about what to do or how to approach the situation. 

Today’s verse not only reveals the roller coaster of emotions we’ll find ourselves on when we’re indecisive, it tells us exactly what to do: pray for wisdom. Ask God for the wisdom and discernment you need to make good Godly choices. 

HOW TO PRAY FOR WISDOM

When we're at a crossroads, we often want to gather as much information as we can and this is a good idea. However, if we don't know how to use the information we gather to make decisions, then we're not necessarily going to make the right choices. We can go on YouTube and Google and get so much information, but information alone is not enough. This is where wisdom from God comes into play. We need God’s divine wisdom to know how to actually execute on the information that we have to make good decisions. 

The Bible tells us that God gives wisdom generously when we ask Him. So it's just a matter of us humbling ourselves before Him to actually ask. What we can sometimes find ourselves doing  instead of praying is overthinking, but prayer and overthinking is not the same. Overthinking is us just circulating information, scenarios, and possible outcomes over and over again in our heads. Praying is presenting that information to God, sharing the troubles that we're having, asking Him for wisdom on what to do, and listening for His response so that we can act on it.

WALK BY THE SPIRIT

Once we have wisdom from God, we then need to step out on faith and be led by the spirit. The Bible tells us that we are to walk in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-26). This means that we actually act out the wisdom that God has given us. We execute the direction that we feel led by God to go in. Making a wise decision isn't just knowing what to do, it's actually doing it. Sometimes we think that if we know which way to go, that's the solution to our problem. Our greatest challenge will be gaining the courage to actually take that step and move in the direction that we feel led. 

This is challenging because although God may give us wisdom to know what decision to make or the best direction to go, we still will not always have a clear vision of the final result of us stepping out in faith. If we’re waiting for a perfectly clear path, we may never make a decision. 

Moving on a wise decision still doesn’t mean you’ll know how everything will work out. It just means you’re trusting God’s lead and having the courage to go, even when you can't see the entire path. Proverbs 16:9 says:  

“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9 ESV)

This verse gives me so much relief because it lets me know even if I make a decision that's not  what God has for me, He completely has the ability to adjust, shift, and move me as He sees fit. This is one of the reasons why we have a hard time making decisions because we feel like it's all on us and we forget that God is on this journey of life with us, that He's guiding us, ordering  and establishing our steps. He's with us in our decision-making. So regardless of how this situation turns out, we can know that it's going be okay because our decisions are not greater than God's providence. God doesn’t want us to live in fear of making the wrong move. He wants us to trust Him. 

4 Questions to Ask When Making a Decision

So when it is time to make a decision, here are 4 questions you should ask to ensure those decisions are wise.  

1. What is God’s ultimate will in this decision? 

The first question you want to ask yourself is what is God’s ultimate will, and which option best aligns with what God desires? Sometimes this is really clear because much of how God desires we live out our lives is outlined in the Bible. So if an option leads us away from the truth of God, we know that’s not a wise decision. However, it’s not that clear like when deciding which school to go to, or should I move to a new city, or make a particular investment, you know things not explicitly in the Bible move to question number two.  

2. What are ALL the options? 

Often, we limit ourselves to one or two choices when it comes to making a decision, but limiting ourselves like this, can lead to unwise decisions by not opening our minds up to all possibilities. It’s important to take time to think outside of the box and get creative when it comes to decision-making because it's not always as simple as yes or no. One time I was trying to make a decision between, let's say, option A and option B, and I was frustrated because I was going through all the pros and cons of each option, and still found myself unsure of which direction to go. When I told my husband about it, he said “well, can you do both?” The thought had never even crossed my mind. I had limited myself to thinking it had to be this or this, not both, but when I was able to create an option where both were possibilities, I realized that that could happen, and that's exactly what I did. So when making a decision, be sure that you have all the possible options in front of you and that you're not limiting yourself. Think outside the box. Of all the options, which one do you think is the best and ask yourself question number three. 

3. What is the worst possible outcome of this option? 

Once you have a choice, ask yourself, what is the worst possible outcome if I make this choice? Now, I know you're like, wait a minute, Christina we’re supposed to think positive and not operate in fear. That’s true. We don't need to be afraid. We still need to have faith. However, we still need to be real about the potential results of the decisions we make that are both good and bad, to make the best decision. So we need to honestly answer the question, What is the worst possible thing that could happen if you make a particular decision?  Can it be reversed, or is it permanent? This is helping you to see how much is a risk you’re taking by making this decision. 

4. What is the best possible outcome of this option? 

At the same time, you also want to ask yourself, what’s the best possible outcome? If everything goes according to plan, for the most part, what’s the best thing that can happen? This question helps you to realize what you could potentially miss out on if you don't make a particular decision. You want to weigh these two questions together: what's the worst that could happen and what was the best that can happen? Is not taking the risk of the worst possible outcome worth potentially missing out on the possibility of the best possible outcome? 

That decision is for you to make and trust God in making that decision. Often, we cover complacency with prayer, waiting to hear a word from God before we decide, but in most cases, God trusts us to use our free will to make decisions with the wisdom He gives. 

The worst thing you can do is not make a decision at all. In the parable of talents, Jesus tells the story of a man who gave talents (or money) to three of his servants according to their ability. He gave five talents to one, two talents to another, and one talent to the last. When the man came back from a journey, the first servant who had five talents gave him ten back from trading. The man was pleased. The second servant who was given two talents gave him four back from trading. The man was pleased. The third servant with one talent didn't do anything with it. He buried it and only returned the one talent. Why did he do this? He said he was afraid. The man was furious and took that servant's one talent and gave it to the servant with ten.

Not making a decision out of fear is a decision and it’s the wrong decision. The truth is the more decisions you make, the better that you get at it. The more you step out on faith and see God move, the greater your faith grows. Whatever you do, don’t operate in fear.  Yes, pray for wisdom, and then sis, make a move. 

That next move just might be watching this video, where I share 4 qualities of a wise woman.  

For more encouragement, download my free Bible Study called “Worry-Free” to learn the 3 lies feeding your worry and the truth to set you free at belovedwomen.org. Thanks for watching and until next time, be beautiful, be blessed, and beloved.