Monday, 08 June 2009 01:00 | and posted in Prayer & Guidance
A friend of mine recently wrote in his blog, "Before I was a Christian I was very decisive. Now I struggle with making decisions."
I know many Christians who share this same indecisiveness and there's probably a good chance you do too. It comes from an honest desire to hear from God when making a big decision. However, if this guidance doesn't clearly come, then indecisiveness creeps in and takes over.
One of the roots of this indecision is fear. We are afraid of making the wrong decision or disobeying God or even "falling" out of his will (or plan) for our life.
In Genesis 2 the Bible says God planted a garden in Eden and there he put the man and woman he had created to run around free and naked. Now their freedom didn't come from a lack of underwear and no parents, it came from the existence of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree represented humanity's choice to say no to a relationship with God and meant that Eden wasn't a paradise prison.
And where did God put this tree?
Verse 9 tells us that, ‘God planted the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil at the top of Mount Everest saying, "It'll be a long time before they get a naked expedition up there!"'
Errr. No. He actually planted it in the middle of the garden. (Genesis 2:9)
In our culture parents often try to eliminate as many poor choices from their children's lives as possible and yet in the second chapter of the Bible we find God purposefully introducing a prominent-placed bad choice into paradise!
God is not afraid of our bad choices. He has the power to redeem every poor decision we make. Whatever direction we take God can turn it around for our good. Isn't this almost a summary of the Bible's story as a whole?
God is in the business of transforming people, relationships, bad choices and the consequences of bad choices. He's very good at this. What God is not so good at (if you will allow me to phrase it that way) is directing someone paralysed with indecision. Why? Because he respects our freedom too much; God is not going to force you to pick an option or erect a neon sign in the sky (however much we desire one!)
It's like you're a big ship. You can only steer a big ship when it's moving. For God to steer (guide) you, you need to be moving! It's much easier for God to guide you when you are moving in faith having made a decision rather than when you are gripped by the fear of indecision.
PRACTICAL TIP #1
Give yourself a time limit in which to make a decision. For example, on smaller decisions give yourselves a week; on larger decisions perhaps a month. The length of time needs to be practically long enough for you to spend time actively seeking God and also give you chance to ask for counsel from people who know you well. Block out time in which to do these things. The aim is to commit to a decision by the end of your time limit.