Note: This is a repost from just a few months back, but it's so relevant to the goal setting process we're studying in ROCKET 2018, I couldn't resist sharing it again. If you haven't yet signed up for ROCKET, it's a FREE 10-day course on how to discover and achieve your most important goals. Enrollment closes at the end of the month.

Many Christians struggle with decision making. And it's not just young people that seem to have difficulty with this. Through the years, I've seen many believers, both young and old, make poor choices: They become confused, act rashly, and end up following some deception of the enemy. I could tell you several sad stories.

But it leads to a vitally important question: how can we know the will of God?

The first step in the process is to recognize that there are three different categories of choices:

• Those about which God has clearly said yes or no
• Those He leaves to our discretion within certain guidelines
• Those few matters which require special guidance

Clearly Revealed Will
In the first category of decision, the best approach is simply to obey. Questioning God about the right course of action, when His will is clearly revealed, is actually dangerous.

I've seen it many times: You share some Bible topic with someone. Give them compelling evidence. And even secure consent that it is indeed what the Bible seems to teach. Then the dreaded words: "Let me pray about it, and see if God wants me to accept this". Almost invariably, they come back confirmed in their prior belief. The decision to pray was in fact stalling for time to come up with excuses to reject Bible truth.

Praying when we should be obeying, sets us for self deception! The only safe course when facing this first type of decision, is to obey promptly.

Areas of Discretion
The second category of decision deals more with the countless small choices we have to make every day. What clothes to wear, what food to eat, how to spend our time throughout the day. In these situations, we should be open to impressions from God, but not agonize about discerning His will.

As long as our clothing, food, and activities fall within biblical guidelines, we don't need to set aside special prayer about every decision. We should always be open to impressions from God, but to require an impression for every choice will leave us paralyzed in indecision, and ultimately stunt our ability to choose well.

Suppose a friend were to give you a nice, high-quality wristwatch. Which would be more appropriate: to ask your friend the time every few minutes or to glance at your watch? To use the watch, right? In the same way, God has given us a powerful brain with an amazing capacity for reason, intelligence, and judgment. God gave us these gifts to use freely within the parameters He has established within His Word.

Again, we should always remain open to impressions from God in these types of decision. Perhaps you'll be impressed to wear a certain outfit that makes a positive impact on some person you meet that day. Perhaps you'll be impressed to skip out on some food and avoid getting a bad tummy ache. Perhaps some word or act prompted by God will result in some great blessing to another person. You never know--but God does. So it is important to always be listening for these impressions.

In this category, we make the best decisions we can, trusting God to intervene with impressions when needed, and leave the results of our choices to Him.

The Tough Choices
The final category of decisions, includes the big, tough ones that have important consequences for our lives. These are the major life choices with so much potential for loss or reward. In these areas especially we need to learn how to seek and discern the will of God.

And by the way, there is a reason these decisions are so difficult. In many situations the Bible is not perfectly clear about which path to take. Either we are torn between two equally good choices, or between two that are equally problematic. It is when the options are most evenly balanced in the mind, and the consequences most significant, that we need the finest and most delicate discernment.

Going through my files a few weeks back I found an old scrap of paper attributed to George Mueller describing his process for making decisions. Here's what it says:

First, I seek to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in a given matter. When we are ready to do the Lord's will--whatever it may be--nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome. Having done this, I do not leave the results to feeling or simple impression. If I do so, I make myself liable to great delusions. I seek the will of the Spirit of God through or in connection with, God's Word. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If the Holy Spirit guides us, He will do it according to the Scriptures, never contrary to them. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection with His Word and Spirit. Finally, I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me. Thus through prayer, the study of the Word and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge. If my mind is thus at peace and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. I have found this method always effective in trivial or important issues.

Another popular writer from around the same time period described the same process in these words:

There are three ways in which the Lord reveals His will to us, to guide us, and to fit us to guide others. God reveals His will to us in His word, the Holy scriptures. His voice is also revealed in His providential workings; and it will be recognized if we do not separate our souls from Him by walking in our own ways, doing according to our own wills. Another way in which God's voice is heard is through the appeals of His Holy Spirit, making impressions upon the heart. If you are in doubt upon any subject you must first consult the Scriptures. Guidance comes to those that earnestly desire it. You should have an earnest desire to be pliable in His hands and to follow withersoever He may lead you. (Ellen White, 5T p 512).

If you compare the two, you will find the same basic steps in both: submission to the will of God, Bible study, a consideration of providence, and earnest prayer. Different words, but the exact same process.

The next time you find yourself facing a decision, first determine which category of choice it is. If God's will is clearly revealed in His Word, simply obey. If it is an area of discretion, make the best choice you can within the parameters you know, trusting God to send impressions when needed. And if it is one of those big, life decisions where the options are closely balanced, and the consequences significant, learn how to seek God. Through surrendering the will, Bible study, a consideration of providence, and earnest personal prayer, trust God to give you a clear understanding of His will, and then to confirm it with an inner peace, conviction, or assurance.

Following these basic guidelines can help us to fulfill God's best will for our life, and avoid the poor choices that so often frustrate His plans for us.

Comments

What about you? Can you think of examples of choices you make that fall into each category? What best helps you discern God's will when facing the toughest decisions? Share a thought or two in the comments below.

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