June Hunt on Decision Making- “Eight Steps to Confident Choices”

August 2016

When facing difficult decisions, how do you make the right choice? Do you flip a coin? Do you pluck petals off a flower? Do you make decisions impulsively or does the paralysis of analysis delay you?

Why do so many people have difficulty making decisions?

How many times have you made a decision only to look back and say, “I made that decision and I thought it was right … but it was wrong”? We’ve all been there and done that. We want to make the right decisions in order to receive God’s blessing, but often, we don’t take the time to consider God’s perspective.

Be assured, God doesn’t play hide and seek as you try to discover His will. The nearer you draw to the heart of God, the clearer you’ll see the will of God. As you sincerely place His desires above your own, He will faithfully lead the way.

According to God’s perspective, decisions are not to be made by random selection, the opinions of others, or by what feels right. God wants us to measure our decisions by His standards and to make our decisions in light of His Word.

These eight tests can add discernment to your decision making.

1. Scriptural Test—Has God already spoken about it in His Word?
   “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
2. Secrecy Test—Would it bother me if everyone knew this was my choice?
   “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity” (Proverbs 11:3).
3. Survey Test—What if everyone followed my example?
   “Set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).
4. Spirit Test—Am I being people-pressured or Spirit-led?
   “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
5. Stumbling Test—Could this cause another person to stumble?
   “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall” (Romans 14:21).
6. Serenity Test—Have I prayed and received peace about this decision?
   “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).
7. Sanctification Test—Will this keep me from growing in the character of Christ?
   “We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
8. Supreme Test—Does this glorify God?
   “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

My hope and prayer is that your decisions please the Lord and bless you as you seek His direction in your life.

Yours in the Lord’s hope,

June Hunt

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Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. New Living, NLT, and the New Living Translation logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.