Fear of Making the Wrong Decision

In review of Psalm 23:3b, it says, “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”

Bottom Line:

He will guide you along the right path, as he has promised.

What this means to me:

God gives me new strength, he guides me along right paths just as he has promised he will.

I have to admit that I’m often afraid of making the wrong decision, and this can cause delay, make me miss out and just plainly create stress.

When I can’t make up my mind, I end up staggering through life. In fact, the Bible says when I remain double-minded, I become unstable in everything I do (James 1). The Greek word for unstable literally means “to stagger like a drunk.”

But God says there is an antidote to my indecision. Psalm 23:3b tells me that, “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake” (NIV). I can handle the stress of decision-making by letting God guide me.

However in the past doing this can make me more confused than before. Sometimes knowing God’s will is difficult. What I’m learning is that God isn’t trying to trick me or frustrate me, in fact he wants to guide me and wants me to know his will more than I probably want to know it. My problem is that I often look for the wrong thing when I’m trying to find God’s will.

It’s easiest to look for a feeling, to be swept off my feet by some emotion so I can say, “That’s how I know what God’s will is!” Also it would be easy to just have some form of methodical approach, a recipe or a formula to apply. Even a magical approach would be helpful, with God providing some fantastic sign, like writing it in the sky, calling me on the phone, or sending me text message.

However, all of these ways will lead to frustration and cause me to miss God’s will. What I’m learning is that God’s will is not a feeling or a formula or something he wants me to be frustrated or fearful about.

God does not want me confused, and he does not want me stressed over making any decision. He is there, guiding me each step of the way.

In summary, when it comes to having fear over making the wrong decision, I should keep in mind first that when I need guidance, God has promised to lead me, however it may not always be through a miraculous sign. Today, I thank you God for caring enough for me to guide me in all areas of my life. While looking for an easy answer might be easiest, I need to be patient and let You lead me one step at a time. You speak to me through your written word and through the counsel of those I trust who are also walking closely with you.