I've always been one of those folks who struggle with decisions...or more specifically with making hard decisions. No wonder I despised taking the SAT. I would agonize, "Well it could be answer a...but then there's always a chance that this other factor comes into play, so it could be c...and d's a non-starter, unless you consider..." Oh mercy, multiple-choice tests threw me into a tailspin--please, oh please, let me write an essay about this instead! I'd happily compose pages explaining all sides of the dilemma...and then maybe you can decide. Sigh.
The same can hold true in life. Hard decisions are so, well, so hard. For one thing, this old stick-in-the-mud detests change. But any kind of decision--no matter which way you decide to go--always involves and results in change of some sort. But I want my children, my friends, my family to stay right here with me all the time; no change, no growing old, no moving away allowed. Is that really too much to ask? Apparently yes.
No wonder I have such a hard time clearing out clutter--everything has some meaning. For instance, this was daddy's seersucker jacket and even though nobody in our family can fit into it, I have to keep it. Or this was Aunt Janie's frying pan and even though it's a bit rusted and worn out, I have to keep it. Or these were the gazillion pictures our children painted in preschool, I have to keep every. single. one. of. them. And books, oh mercy, just go ahead and sign me up for one of those hoarder shows when it comes to books.
But clutter, I'm discovering, is essentially the inability--or the refusal--to make a decision about giving away or throwing away some item. And for a girl who struggles with decisions and change, this is, to put it mildly, a challenge.
Life, however, consists of nonstop decisions and constant change.
And here's the great news for those of us who wrestle with decisions and change: Almighty God is the Source of perfect wisdom, knowledge, and power. "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!...For of Him and through him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." (Rom.11,33,36)
He is eternal, constant, and changeless. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Heb.13:8)
And He has promised that He will never, ever leave us nor forsake us. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deut.31:6)
Yep, we may sometimes feel as if we live on some cosmic helter-skelter roller coaster, but the truth, the true Truth, is that our Lord's in complete control, He's with us every moment, and He's got everything we need for life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3)
Translation: God's got this, so trust and follow Him. We don't need to be able to see the way ahead...God sees it. God's already in the future, and He's got that future--and us--securely in His nail-scarred hands, so we can go to Him first, then make those decisions, stop the hand-wringing, and enjoy the ride.
And can I add one question that I recently heard on a podcast that was a game-changer for me? When you're struggling with which way to go on a challenging decision ask yourself this question: "Am I being led by love or pushed by fear?"
Am I choosing based upon my fears or based upon God's love? Am I allowing fear to push me into the "safe" choice or am I allowing God's love to lead me into His often more adventurous ways? Another way to put that is am I living, deciding, and moving ahead in this area based upon my fears or my faith?
Today if you're facing some difficult decision or some unwanted change, maybe you can join me in first asking yourself that question: Am I being led by love or pushed by fear? If it's fear, we all know the antidote--faith in our forever faithful, infinitely powerful, perfectly wise, and extravagantly loving Lord. Faith over fear. Love over fear. Our Heavenly Father over fear.
Lord, in all our decisions of life--big and small, easy and challenging--teach us and enable us to choose based upon faith in You rather than fear of the unknown or the imagined. Help us to be led by Your love this day and every day. To God be the glory.
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