Four Steps to Exceptional Decision-Making

Photo by Emily Fletke @fletkefoto

1. SIMPLY ASK GOD FOR HELP.

Tell God your need and ask him for wisdom. Then believe God will be with you in helping you make wise decisions.

2. READ GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS AND WORK HARD TO FOLLOW THEM.

God has given us a guidebook to help us live well.

The Bible may seem outdated and full of complicated wording. So, you might wonder: “Is it really for a twenty-first century New Yorker and the every-day decisions I have to make? I mean, if I’m trying to decide whether to take a lease on that apartment, does the Bible help me with that decision?”

Some people might randomly open the Bible at a page, close their eyes, and if their finger comes down on something like “build your house,” then they’d take it as a “yes” from God, and sign the lease.

But, we’re not meant to use the Bible as some kind of roulette wheel.

Instead, think about the Bible as directions for living.

Parts of the Bible are difficult to understand; I’m with you there. So, go to the stories about Jesus. We can’t go wrong if we follow Jesus’ example of how he lived — he did it simply, he did it lovingly, and he did it honestly. And, do your best with Jesus’ straightforward directives to love God and love other people.

When we make it our focus to follow the how-to manual God has given us, we are promised we will not stumble or slip — and that includes in our decision-making.

3. BELIEVE GOD’S GOT YOUR BACK, AND MAKE THAT DECISION CONFIDENTLY.

Of course, this doesn’t apply if we make a really stupid decision – I mean like deciding to steal makeup from Sephora because we don’t have any funds left for the month. We can’t claim God’s got our back then.

But, if we’re doing both #1 and #2 above — asking God for help and following his instructions — then we can relax in whatever we end up deciding. God tells us: “Whatever you do, do it with me in mind, and not other people.” Doing it for “other people” is another matter, one we don’t have time to explore here, but we will in later months.

Which brings us to our final step:

4. LOOK OUT FOR TIPS, OR POINTERS, FROM GOD.

When we get close to God, he’s going to show up even more.

God promises, when we follow him, that we don’t do life on our own. He gives us his Spirit who lives inside of us. I know this may sound freaky, but hey, if it helps, let’s go for it.

Remember how we said a typical way to make decisions is to listen to our inner being, yet sometimes we don’t trust ourselves? With God’s Spirit in us, we can rely on our intuition, two and two coming together, that kind of thing. (Read Melissa’s story about how she sensed something wasn’t quite right and she had to act on it — moving out of the apartment she shared with her boyfriend.)

“How does this work?” You might be wondering.

God can give you a:

Vision — like with Radiant, which you have to act on.

Restlessness, which doesn’t go away until you’ve made a move.

Sense something isn’t quite right, or is right, and you have to act on it.

Circumstance that makes you think “perfect timing,” or “this has got to be more than coincidence.”

Revelation through another person, friend or stranger.

The thing is, when we’re seeing pointers in our lives, it makes us realize we’re not making decisions on our own. It’s reassuring to know God’s got us.

We’ve also got each other, so let us know: What decision are you struggling with today?