How to Make Important Decisions with God’s Guidance
These words about how to make important decisions come from a season in my life that feels about a million pages past in the story of my days. It’s the summer of 2001, and I have traveled to Alaska – completely alone – to find answers to important questions about God and love and life.
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The still water shines like glass, and I find myself looking to the hills for help. Somewhere in the recesses of my memory I remember something about help coming from the hills, and I’m desperate for help. I’m just into the decade of my twenties, and I’m struggling with how to make an important decision.
Mosquitoes hum around my headnet, a constant reminder that I am far from home. I wonder if they might speak the truth of my future and catch myself listening for just a moment. I’ve reached a crossroads in life, and I’m not sure which road to take.
I came to Alaska to find answers about my career, myself, and mostly about God. I don’t know it yet, but he’ll graciously provide answers to all three.
A fish jumps, casting tiny circles that ripple the whole way to the shore.
How to Make Important Decisions with God’s Help
I’m praying about whether to leave my home in Pennsylvania to pursue a teaching career in Alaska, or whether this summer job at the gas station will be my final stay in Interior Alaska. I’m waiting for an answer from God, and I’m weighing it all out. I love the endless mountains, the sense of adventure, and the constant daylight of the Alaskan summer. But I miss my family, my friends, and the freshly cut hayfields of Plain Grove.
I open my Bible for the first time since arriving in the land of the midnight sun. I don’t read it much these days. I believe God let me down, and I’m offended. But I still believe he’s there, so I open it and start reading in the book of Galatians. I make it to chapter five without noticing much anything at all.
A mosquito penetrates my headnet, and I smash it between the green netting with a bloody pinch.
At precisely this moment, Truth catches my eye: “. . . the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6).
I’ve been sensing God’s voice often throughout my summer excursions, but most of the time, I’m looking in all the wrong places. But this day, on the lake, God’s voice is clear and sweet. It has to do with my calling, and I have no doubt this is a Word just for me.
I can move to Alaska to teach, or I can search for a job in Pennsylvania. What matters most is that I live a life of faith expressing itself through love. If my decision is based on love, if it seems wise, I will simply weigh my options and make the best decision I know how to make.
When God Seems Silent
I gaze up at the mountains surrounding the quiet lake, and I know the answer.
I don’t really want to abandon all that I know and everyone I love.
I don’t really want to relocate to a place where the sun won’t shine in the winter months.
I don’t want to miss birthday parties, weddings, and funerals.
I want to love God well and serve him a little closer to home. I’m afraid of where life might lead if I stay here with all the temptations of dark winter living. I close the Bible and stare at mountains reflected on the lake. I will let my faith express itself through love and make the best decision I know to make.
I left Alaska with tears that summer, and I haven’t returned since. I’m pleased with my choice to teach in Pennsylvania, and I’m pleased with all the doors that opened as a result.
The Search for “Clarity”
I used to labor long and hard in search of “clarity” from God. And while pressing into the heart of Lord when making decisions is of vital importance, there is a fine line between pursuing his heart and making “clarity” an idol.
I'm learning that when I'm struggling with how to make decisions, God often calls me to simply make the best, wisest decision I know how to make at the time, always assuring it is rooted in love. Share on XWhile God has a plan and purpose for each of his children, sometimes we get caught up on hearing him just right and executing the details of our lives perfectly.
How to Make Important Decisions when the Next Step is Unclear
What if we simply committed to make the best, wisest, most love-rooted decisions possible, and stop stressing over when, where, how and why? I believe it would set us free in ways we never imagined.
What if we really trusted him to hem us in, behind and before? I believe we’d learn to walk in the assurance of his love and provision.
Someday I hope to return to Alaska – to sit on the porch of the cabin where I lived with Anne Marie, to walk along the Tenana River, to watch the Mountain glow at 2 a.m., and climb to the summit of Mount Healy. Someday I hope to sit along that mountain lake with buzzing mosquitoes and thank God for the quiet guidance along the journey.
An Invitation for You as You Make Decisions
If you would like to take a journey into a life that is more intentional in the ways you connect with God and with others, my gift to you today is my free 21-day devotional Unrushed: Slow Your Pace and Embrace the Fully-present Life. Each day of this journey will focus on one of the following: your thoughts, your relationship with God, or your relationships with others. This is a powerful journey into a life that is more present – more fully lived. Click here, and I’ll send this free resource to your email inbox!
