Stressed About Indecisiveness?
Psalm 23:3 (NLT) —
‘He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name.’
We are frequently afraid of making wrong decisions at every crucial stage of our life, and that indecisiveness causes stress! Whether it's a major issue or a minor issue such as pursuing a degree, starting a new job, getting married, having a child, letting go or setting a lifestyle change. An individual lurches unsteadily through their life when they cannot make up their mind. The Bible in the letter of James (1:8) says that ‘when we have two minds, we become unstable in everything we do.’
However, God says there is a remedy to our indecisiveness. 'He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name.' We deal with the stress of decision-making by allowing God to lead us.
'Oh! I have tried leaning on God!' you may be thinking. You might have prayed to God to guide you, but might have ended up much more confused than before. 'Why is it so hard to know God's will?' you speculate. Is God ignoring us, unwilling to help? Absolutely not! God loves to lead us. He wants us to know his will more than we desire to know it, but our problem is we often look for the wrong thing when we are trying to find God’s will.
For instance, we tend to seek feelings: we want to be carried away by an emotion so that we can declare, 'That's how I know what God's will is!' Others want to approach God's will mechanically - they want him to provide a blueprint or a technique to follow to attain God’s will. There are those whose approach is an expectation of him sending them a miraculous or fantastic sign.
All these ways can result in disappointment or a misunderstanding of God's will. God's will is not a sensation, a formula, or anything to be annoyed or afraid of. God does not want you to be puzzled or worried about making any decision. He is with you every step of the journey, guiding you. He will give you inner assurance when you take the right step.
Prayer — Dear Lord, give me the patience to deal with major and minor decisions in all aspects of my life. Provide me with heavenly power so that I can always follow where you lead. May I take the route you show me, even though sometimes it appears unclear? Lord, please slow me down when I rush and show me how to make sound judgements.