Trusting God in Decision-Making
“How am I supposed to approach this decision, Mary Beth?” I whispered…
“Ah, Molly,” Mary Beth crooned. “Isn’t that the million-dollar question? What is God’s will for my life? Right?” she clarified, and I nodded. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could just open the Bible and find step-by-step instructions on how to make these kinds of decisions?”
I nodded, unable to speak as my throat tightened up and unshed tears threatened to spill down my cheeks. “Sad to say, you won’t find any. But that doesn’t mean God is silent on these matters. I’m sure you’re familiar with this verse, Molly. From Deuteronomy 6:5— ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.’ That’s what God is calling all of us to do, Molly. And it’s always been my thought that if our decisions line up with this command, with the rest of scripture, and the counsel of more mature believers, we can trust that the decision will honor Him, sweetie. So, seek Him, Molly. Meditate on His word. Romans 12:2 instructs us to ‘not be transformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.’”
I nodded again, but Mary Beth could see the confusion lingering in my eyes. “We’re sinful beings, Molly. Our instinct is to make decisions based on what we love, what will make us happy. If we love the world, we’re going to conform to it. But if we love Jesus—if we love the things He loves—we’re going to be transformed by renewed minds, sweetie. And that’s going to show in the decisions we make, both small ones and big. So, keep searching,” she encouraged. “Keep praying, reading your Bible, and talking this over with others. But don’t let fear keep you from making a decision, Molly. You can rest in his goodness, his sovereignty.”
-Sara Whitley, “An Open Window”
Can you relate to Molly’s struggle to make a God-honoring decision? I know I can. I, too, have wished for step-by-step instructions on how to make a specific decision—what should I major in in college? What kind of job should I take after graduation? Should I marry this person? How many kids should I have?
On and on the list of questions goes. With so many choices to make—both big and small—how exactly should we go about making them? What, if any, instructions does God give us about decision making?
I love how Jon Bloom, a writer for a ministry I highly trust—Desiring God—puts it. He says, “The Bible doesn’t even give specific guidance on huge, life-shaping decisions like should I marry this person? Should I give more or save for retirement? Should we adopt a child?… These kinds of decisions tend to have multiple acceptable options within the scope of God’s revealed moral will, his commandments. Yet he cares deeply about the details and course of our lives. So what guidance does he give to help us navigate ambiguous decisions? He says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).”
Yes, I drew from this exact resource as I was writing the above quoted dialogue between Molly and Mary Beth 😊 Jon Bloom does an excellent job tackling this difficult concept and breaking it down into easier to swallow chunks. And, I love that he specifically mentions God’s revealed moral will, which is, according to Wayne Grudem, “the moral standards of Scripture, such as the Ten Commandments and the moral commands of the New Testament. God’s moral commands are given as descriptions of we should conduct ourselves if we would act rightly before him.”
And did you catch what Jon Bloom said about those big, life-changing questions? That they “tend to have multiple acceptable options within the scope of God’s revealed moral will.” You can breathe a bit easier knowing God isn’t sitting on his throne, peering down at you, ready to hit you with a consequence when you didn’t make “the right choice.” If our decisions line up with what he has clearly revealed to us in Scripture, then we are left to simply choose.
So, choose, first of all, to love Jesus. When we do so, we begin to love what he loves, and, as a result, our decisions will be honoring to him.
Sounds easy, right?
Well, we all know that’s still not the case! In some instances, we can make a good decision and walk confidently into that decision. Other times, we are called to wait. To trust in God’s will and his timing. Recently my husband and I began putting together a plan—trying to step into a good decision—only to realize that our plan might not play out how we envisioned it to. I’m sure you’ve found yourself in a similar frustrating situation. And it is in the midst of these trying times that we may begin to wonder, “Can I really trust God?”
Molly will grapple with this question,
too. She will struggle to take the first—and
second, and third, and fourth—steps into her future after having walked through
intense, fiery trials, fearing she will make the wrong decisions yet again. She
will wrestle with the fact that God, in His infinite wisdom, may ultimately
lead her down a path she would not choose for herself. And she will question
the timing with which He will do so.
The Lord provided me an invaluable resource as I tackle this tough subject through Molly—the book “Trusting God,” by Jerry Bridges. In his book, Bridges explains that, “We make plans but are often forced to change those plans. But there are no contingencies with God. Our unexpected, forced change of plans is a part of His plan. God is never surprised; never caught off guard; never frustrated by unexpected developments. God does as He pleases, and that which pleases Him is always for His glory and our good.”
Did you catch that last sentence—for His glory and our good! God always pursues those things. Together. Bridges also asserts that there is a “twofold objective to God’s providence: His own glory and the good of His people. These two objectives are never antithetical; they are always in harmony with each other. God never pursues His glory at the expense of the good of His people, nor does He ever seek our good at the expense of His glory.”
I can’t tell you how much peace this has brought into my life. While I know that I will continue to face big decisions, to wrestle with which path I should walk down, I do take comfort knowing that God has given me a map to follow, and that, as the creator of that map, he knows the way. I may be surprised at all the twists and turns that ensue along the journey, but he never will be.
Keep walking, friends. God is trustworthy. And he is good.
He will get you exactly where you need to be.
