How to Decide - Martin Wiles

And you will hear a voice say, “This is the way; turn around and walk here.” Isaiah 30:21 NLT

A multiplicity of choices can complicate our decision-making process.

My wife is the queen of slow when deciding what to wear. Very conscientious of how she looks, she will spend more time in a closet in one morning looking at clothes than I do in an entire week. She carefully takes the pieces of her prospective outfit from the rack and hangs them together to see how they look. This process may continue several times before she decides on an outfit she likes. Occasionally, she will ask, “How do you think this looks together?” My opinion really doesn’t matter, but I suppose it makes her feel better to ask. And, of course, I also appreciate her matching my clothes.

The ancient nation of Israel had a bad habit of listening to the wrong voices when making decisions. This habit cost them numerous defeats at the hands of their enemies and other forms of discipline from God. The prophet Isaiah reminded them that a better way to make decisions existed—one that still works today.

As believers, the first question we should consider when deciding is whether the choice is sinful. We have no acceptable time to decide to do something that will lead us down a sinful path. When those times come, we don’t even have to pray about what God would want us to do. He always wants us to say “No.”

Making decisions based on feelings is also not typically wise. Sinful choices—as well as other choices—can feel right but be very wrong. Sin often feels right. This is how Satan designs it. If it felt wrong, no one would sin—or at least not as often. We must learn to forego our feelings for facts and truth.

I’ve sought others’ opinions when faced with life-changing decisions. This is acceptable as long as we can trust them individually and if they base their views on scriptural truth.

We make our best decisions by faith, basing them on what God’s Word says. The truth of God’s Word trumps our feelings and others' opinions and will never lead us down a sinful course.

Make sure you always make your decisions based on the truth of God’s Word.

Father, thank You for the guiding power of Your Spirit when the time comes for us to make decisions. 

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