The #1 Key for Making Right DecisonsSample

Day 4 - A Pro-Con List

While it’s important to use common sense, making a pro-con list to make a decision is relying on your ideas to lead you instead of God’s direction.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.’ Our human understanding is so limited. But God knows everything. Yes, He gave you a brain and He wants you to use it; but sometimes His direction and your so-called logic don’t match. Always go with His direction. You don’t want to rely only on your understanding because you just don’t know everything you need to know.

I remember when I was going to move from Boise, Idaho, back to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I had been pastoring our church in Boise by myself for the four years since my first husband Brent died, and I felt like God was saying to me, “Move back to Tulsa.” I didn’t want to, but I felt like the Lord was prompting me to. Now, looking back, I’m so glad I did—there were so many divine connections and dreams come true for me and my sons in Tulsa.

But when I was deciding whether to move or not, it was hard! I started to make a pro-con list, and it looked something like this:

PRO

There are good connections in Tulsa.

God is saying to move there.

CON

Moving farther from my family

Leaving my church and church family—all our loving support

Several people think I shouldn’t do it.

I’m just starting to get the hang of pastoring—the church is growing, why quit now?

It’s expensive to move.

My youngest son is still in high school

We are established here. It would be starting over again.

I love Boise and the Northwest.

Tulsa is so hot in the summer.

We’ve already lived there twice—what if this is wrong?

If I had made the decision based on my pro-con list, the cons would have won, and I never would have moved. That’s why it’s more important to seek God and His direction. We just don’t know enough in our natural minds to understand all the ramifications of a decision. Be sure you’re basing your decision on God’s direction, not on a pro-con list.