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Needing Decision Help?

Today I need decision help – I have a choice to make.  Which path will I choose? Certainly I have decisions I make everyday. But often these small things like what to wear, which shoes to get, or to open the window or not, have little impact in the long run.

I crave decision help for a choice which will affect my writing path. A friend told me once every decision can be undone. I mean, our family is moving to Honduras and that is a HUGE choice. If we do have to come back to the states it won’t be easy to “undo” that decision. When we put our boys in school last year, it felt like a huge step as well. But we knew we could pull them out and homeschool them again if we needed to. The choice could be undone.

The choice I have isn’t one that will easily be undone. Yes, eventually I could change the path, but really, once I make this choice, it will affect my writing life for at least the next few years.  I tried talking it over with Jason, but honestly, this choice is mine to make. So I’m sitting back and listening to my heart, weighing the options, pleading God for wisdom, and asking friends to pray. My husband, my mom, and friends have given me counsel.

The rest of the choice is up to me. So, what will I choose? Making the choice feels like going uphill and I’m already out of breath at the bottom. As I drove the thirty minutes to take my daughter to occupational therapy, I listened to Emily’s podcast, Do the Next Right Thing. In episode eight-three, Emily quotes Iris Murdoch:

“At crucial moments of choice, most of the business of choosing is already over.”

A Startling Revelation

Bam. Immediately I felt a weight lift off my shoulders and I began to cry. Emily went on to say, “The decision is rarely the point. The point is the person I’m becoming…how the decision-making process informs and shapes me in such a way that my instinctual choice is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…to understand that the habits in my life, the way I spend my time, the things I choose to focus on — these things are shaping me. And they will always impact my decisions for better or for worse.”

I wept in the car right then when I realized the business of choosing is really over. I need not fret about which path to choose anymore. In her book, Emily says “Let go of your expectation of certainty.”  What a freeing statement! Some things I can know for sure; but most of the time which path to choose (when there are two good choices) will always be clouded with uncertainty and mystery. I am not God and cannot see into the future. So why would expect to see clearly each path before I take it?

I love this quote Emily shares in her book from Jamie and his podcast, The Popcast: “I don’t have a five year plan. God’s word is a lamp unto me feet, not my football field.” If I am trying to see the entire path before I take one step forward, what does that say about my faith in God?

There is this tendency to be stuck. Right here in the middle of the decision, before even going up the hill to the choice, and I’m letting my fears take precedence over my faith. I still don’t know which choice I’ll make, but I have a little peace knowing my world will not end, God will not be disappointed, and my family will not starve because of my decision.

Do you need decision help? Definitely check out Emily P. Freeman’s podcast and book. But can I offer something else? Can I offer a prayer for you today?

A Prayer for the mom who needs Decision Help

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Running short on time?  Grab your Simple (but complete) Decision Prayer Guide here!

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This is prayer for the mom who is faced with a decision. If you need decision help, may you realize that the uncertainty you feel isn’t a flaw, but an opportunity to find faith in a faithful Father. May you be at peace knowing decisions do not define His infinite love for you nor does one “wrong” decision determine your ultimate destination.

I am ready for the choice today because today is the day You have created for me to make this choice

Admit Your Need for Decision Help

Dear Faithful Father, 

Today, I come to you with a heart filled with indecision. I have two paths before me. Honestly, I don’t know which one to choose. Can You just write it in the sky? Speak to me audibly? Maybe send me a vision in my dreams? Instead, I am waiting here with open arms wanting to hear Your voice. I need decision help!

Making the wrong decision is NOT something I want to do – I want to choose the right path. But let me remember You are the maker of the way, the path finder, and the guider of my steps. You have already chosen a path for me, and this one choice is just a way for me to trust You. 

Pray Scripture for Decision Help

Anxiety plagues my heartAnxiety plagues my heart because I don’t want to choose wrong – but You have promised to guide me (Psalm 25:9, Psalm 48:14, Psalm 78:52). Lord, you have promised to help lead me in the way of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, James 1:5). Let me trust that it is Your hand that has brought me to this place of decision. If You have brought me here, You will not abandon me once I choose. The path will go on after the choice and You will still be walking with me. 

All of the uncertainty flowing from a heart comes from fear and pride. Let not my heart feel the ache of pride to know it all. Let me rest in knowing you will light my steps (Psalm 119:105). As I make plans, weigh the options, ask friends for decision help, and speak to You in this quiet moment, give my heart peace. For in peace I find the choice is easier to make knowing You are with me. 

Pray Truths for Decision Help

No, You will not speak to me through dreams or with writing on a wall. I will refrain from looking for “signs” in the traffic lights or cappuccinos. You have already spoken and it is written all out for me in the Bible. No, there is no direct answer to my question, but the principles I need to choose the right path are hidden in the treasure of the pages of the Word. 

Let me remember You have brought me to these crossroads with a lifetime of experience behind me. I am ready for the choice today because today is the day You have created for me to make this choice. The life I’ve lived – both rejections and acceptances – have prepared me for this time. I am not deciding the fate of a nation, but I can believe, like Esther, that I was brought to this moment for such a time as this. The timing of this choice was perfectly orchestrated by You; and this gives me comfort. 

Choose Confidence for the Decision

So as I move forward on the path I choose and the one I feel and believe is the best choice, I will go forth in confidence knowing You have prepared the way behind and go before me to prepare the way in front. The promise of your presence will provide the protection and peace my heart so desperately needs. 

Because, Lord God of Heaven and Earth, the choice is not the point. May I realize that the uncertainty I feel isn’t a flaw, but an opportunity to find faith in You, a faithful Father. Grant me peace in knowing decisions do not define Your infinite love for me nor does one “wrong” decision determine my ultimate destination. The path is plain as I hold close to You, Jesus. 

Amen.

Sarah writes in a brick house at the end of a road with her husband, five kids, and two cats.  Motherhood fills her days with sweetness, but her passion is to inspire focus and encourage deep-rooted Bible study for the busy mom.  She is the author of three Bible studies. Life is full of seasons, but every season can be made more joyful when time is spent in God’s word. Join Sarah on Instagram at @sarah_e_frazer and her website, sarahefrazer.com. Download her FREE prayer challenge here: sarahefrazer.com/prayer.