Decisions, Decisions

SCRIPTURE:  Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

THOUGHT: Did you know that some researchers believe the average American adult makes up to 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day – that’s roughly 24 decisions a minute if we never slept (which hopefully we do)!

The more our level of responsibility increases, the more decisions we make, and like ripples in a pond, those decisions impact the ones close to us as well as the ones far away.

Whether this research is right or not, the point is taken: decisions fly at us, some big, some small; some life-altering, some inconsequential. Over time, they can accumulate and become our way of being in the world. Bad decisions become bad habits leading to bad outcomes. Good decisions can lead us the other way.

But how do we know what to do? That is the crux of the matter with big decisions. We often sweat them, anxiously weighing pros and cons, doing the research, running the scenarios, and asking others – including God – for advice.

It’s no wonder we may feel worn out in a culture where options and choices only seem to grow wider and bigger and more frequent.

Spiritually, we can find a way through the morass by letting our first choice each morning be the one where we determine to trust in the Lord with our whole heart, not leaning on our personal, often hurried, sometimes damaged and usually weighted perspective, but instead leaning on what we know God has said, asking for his great wisdom and insight to direct us into the paths he chooses, then making decisions confident that he has heard and will answer.

For creatures of free will to ask for help from the source who gave it to them is a decision that will also start ripples that affect lives closest to us, as well as those far away.

PRAYER: Oh God, I confess sometimes I am worn out by all the decisions flying at me each day. It helps to submit my life to you rather than leaning on my own understanding of things; to acknowledge you in every choice and know that you’ve promised to direct my paths.