You on PurposeSample

DAY 5: Choose Without Certainty

When we’re trying to make major decisions about our lives, the fear of making the wrong choice can create anxiety. We want to know without a doubt what we’re supposed to do next. We’d often rather continue plodding down a familiar path than risk making a decision that could send us in a new, uncertain direction. We believe it’s better to make no choice than the wrong choice. As a result, we become paralyzed in indecision and keep living the same story, unable to discern our calling for fear of making a mistake.

We will have to make choices in order to move around or forward, but we don’t need to be scared that if we choose incorrectly, we’ll be headed in the wrong direction. In all likelihood, our path wouldn’t be straight even if we did make all the “right” decisions. We can have confidence and rest in the knowledge that if we’re seeking God’s will, He will redirect our path to take us where He wants us to go — much like a GPS map recalculating our route when we take a wrong turn. Besides, detours can be a valuable part of the plan, revealing new things to us about ourselves, our calling, our world, and our Creator.

We all want to make the right choice. Sometimes, however, there isn’t a right choice or a wrong choice —there’s just a choice and it’s up to you to decide. As long as you are leaning into God’s guidance individually and in community, and honestly desiring to follow the leading of the Spirit, you can’t get too far off course. That should begin to give you confidence about making a choice — any of the good choices before you — in order to move forward.

Though we may never have absolute certainty in our decisions, we have certainty in God’s love for us. We receive a boost in the courage required when we realize that any one decision by itself won’t determine the final outcome. 

Rather than dwell on what might be “right” or “wrong” about a decision in front of you, list ways in which you can rely on God’s wisdom to guide you through the unforeseen outcomes of your choice.