When You Don’t Know What To Do

There have been times in my life when I just haven’t known what to do.  Can you relate?

There are days when someone’s waiting for an answer from me and I have no clue how to answer them.  Has this happened to you?

There are moments when someone needs me to pray for them and I don’t know what to say.  Are you with me?

Recently, Dean and I met with several people to discuss some big decisions that we needed to make about our ministry.  We prayed together and knew a basic path that God had set before us.

When we met, we sat across the table and listened to a different path.  It was a lovely path and one that was exciting, interesting, and offered another direction to serve God.

I looked at my husband seated next to me.  His arms rested on the big green table in our dining room.  And as we listened, I quietly and gently pulled back the corner of the tablecloth.  Sound crazy?  Not to me.

As the vision was cast before us, my mind raced back to the many days of life that I sat at this old green table.  I purposely put my husband at the end of the table, and I sat in my dad’s spot.  “Why?” you ask.  Because Daddy had wisdom.  He had it in huge doses.  I’ve never met anyone with wisdom like my father.  And as a small child, I began to take note as to how he answered the unanswerable.  I listened as to how he directed answers to the people needing help, hope, and healing.  Now, if my memory would serve me right, I would be able to open the file cabinets of my mind and pull out the answers that I learned so long ago.

[callout]My father told me that scripture was the basis for all answers.  He said that if we spend time in God’s word each day, we begin to absorb it, think it, believe it, become it. [/callout]

Daddy also told me that anyone can pray and ask God for wisdom.  And he told me that you never rush into any life-changing, course-altering avenues without much prayer, wise counsel, scripture reading, and thought.

The vision across the table continued to whirl in front of us but I had a steady pace in my thought process and I remembered where I sat … in my father’s spot at the table.

I recited in my mind what he taught me about decision making.  Here are the steps to making wise decisions about anything:

When You Don’t Know What To Do~

1.  Pray~ ask God for help and tell Him that you need wisdom. Proverbs 8:17, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.”

2.  Seek Wise Counsel~ find several Godly people in your life who are smart and help you think through things. Proverbs 15:22, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

3.  Read your Bible~ God’s word has the answers.  When it comes to wisdom, quote God’s word back to Him and say, Proverbs 8:34, “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.”

4.  Look at the pros and cons~ think about what’s happening and look thoroughly at the entire situation. Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

5.  Listen for the Holy Spirit~ God talks to us through His Word, through His Spirit, through others, through nature, through music … we must listen. Proverbs 8: 33, “Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not ignore it.” 

When the vision was cast and Dean and I looked at each other, we gently said we’d discuss it and pray together.

Later that night, Dean and I knew some things after we ran them down the list of 5 things to do:  Pray, Seek Counsel, Read scripture, Look at pros and cons, and Listen for the Spirit.  We knew that this did not fit into the vision God had given us.  There was nothing wrong, it just wasn’t on our path for where God wanted us, our ministry, our church.

Sometimes it’s not that complicated.  Some days it’s deciding to return many phone calls and emails or what to fix for dinner.  But somedays, it’s life changing, course-determining steps and those are the days when you need help!

[callout]God wants us to live our best life and walk in His steps with the course He’s set for us.  He is a God of order and control.  No need to get frantic and cry … He’s got your best in mind. [/callout]

Today, release to Him the decisions you need to make.  Seek Him in a quiet corner of Your life, call smart friends, read your Bible, look at the details of the situation and then listen for the answer from God.

After all He says in Proverbs 14:15, “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent (cautious/wise) man gives thought to his steps.”

Blessings to you today on all your decisions!