Every Christian is at various times in their life placed into a situation where a major decision has to be made. A job offer comes. The home down the street finally comes up for sale. A young man stands in the jewelry shop and wonders if he should actually buy the ring. It could be a hundred other situations. But each time, it is a decision that seems to come wrapped up in loads of stress.
How does one make that decision?
Well, many Christians and Christian leaders suggest this approach: Pray and God will tell you what to do. He will give you a sense of peace. He will speak through small signs in your life. Perhaps He will speak audibly to you.
This sounds very spiritual and many people operate in this way each day. The only problem is that we have no biblical promise I am aware of that God will lead us in such ways. Also, it is surely way too easy to convince yourself that some feeling or coincidence must be from God when it may really just be a feeling or coincidence you have conjured up yourself.
It seems to me another approach is far more scriptural. Let me explain it here.
First, examine the options and ask, “Are all choices God pleasing?” Is there anything in any option that would go against the ways that Christ has called us as his children to live within. Here we are not trying to seek the hidden will of God about the decision, but simply working with what God has revealed in the Scriptures. Do both options honor God, allow for worship of Him, honor authority, etc? If so, move on to the next part. If one option would involve lack of integrity, reveal obvious greed or lead one into obvious temptation, then choose the other.
Second, consider each option in light of the various vocations (roles, callings) God has given you. Ask how each option would affect your work, your family relationships, your church relationships? Try here not to prioritize one vocation over another. All are important. If one decision would negatively or positively effect one vocation or another, take that into account. Try to reason which option makes it easiest to faithfully carry out ALL of the vocations God has given to you.
Third, seek counsel. Talk with people who may be able to help you consider various aspects of the decision. Seek spiritual counsel from your pastor and your Christian brothers and sisters. Seek professional counsel in various fields related to the decision. Seek out practical counsel from those you trust and respect as wise individuals in general.
Fourth, pray, make a decision, and know that God goes with you. So long as both decisions are godly ones, you need not fear that somehow God is sitting up in heaven thinking that you made the wrong decision and will punish you for it. Instead know that whichever choice you made, God goes with you and before you. You know already what God requires of you regardless of the decision: To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
God has not promised to give us specific guidance for every decision. In most cases, He likely does not even have a preference which decision is made if both options can be made without trespassing any of His ways. He is much more concerned with how we live each day in the places He has put us. He knows that people can served in nearly all situations, jobs, and locations.
So, consider what God has revealed rather than seeking out some sign that may or may not be from His hand. Make a decision and know that the Lord is with you. That is how a Christian makes a big decision in life.
Philip,
First let me say that I agree with your direction on reasoning through the decisions. I also recognize the tendency by many to simply label their emotions and circumstances as “acts of God”. But it seems to me that that there are many who choose to go down either the side of enthusiasm or the side or reason and fail to maintain the proper tension of having the God of all creation actively involved and caring in and for our daily lives. We are called to “pray without ceasing” and to ask God for wisdom when we lack it (James 1:5). Thus, prayer should always be our first and foremost act in any decision we make. This does not mean the we look for some cosmic intervention to lead us in the path we should take but it does mean that we bow down to God’s wisdom and will before we act solely in our own wisdom, for the wisdom of God can appear as foolishness to man and we need to recognize that sometimes the acts of God are not always reasonable by human understanding. We are truly foolish if we think we can make “wise” decisions when we do not even know what the next breath holds for us. This does not mean that we should be paralyzed in making decisions; it simply means that if our knees are not continually bowed before God, every decision we make holds more the possibility of failure rather than the the promise of success. Or to remove it from success and failure it might be better to see it in terms of doing or not doing the works that God has prepared for us to do.
I know that there is this teaching out there that says that as pastors, when a call is received, we ought to examine it in light of our physical circumstance and make the best decision based upon our reason. That, in itself, is not necessarily a bad thought. But how are we to discern when God is bringing pastor and congregation together for gifts and needs that are not necessarily easily seen on the surface? What is it exactly for which we ask others to pray? There are times when the reason of man cannot grasp the wisdom of God. To think that this is possible can lead one down a path of despair when it appears that a call has gone bad. I, myself, know that neither of my calls were failures. But what do you say to the brother who simply thinks that the success or failure of his call is dependent upon his reason? This, I believe, brings us to the real issue of the struggle in making those big decisions; how can we be at peace with God and not fear bringing judgment upon ourselves in the decisions we make? So here we want to affirm that there is freedom in Christ to make decisions and that we cannot destroy the kingdom of God as I believe is the message you are making. Yet, I also think that it is good for us to not dismiss the tension that ought to keep us dependent upon our Lord. Just because we need not fear His judgment does not mean that we need not strive to be faithful stewards of all the gifts, and decisions, He gives.
Thank you for writing and taking the time to read through my thoughts,
Rick