Decisions, Decisions
"How long will you halt between two opinions?"
Have you ever struggled with decision-making? Have you often felt paralyzed by whether you’ll make the right choice? Join me as I explore these subjects and contemplate their solution.
Excerpted from my purple Poppin “Anything Goes” journal on July 15, 2016
More Than Just a Hobby
I’ve been reading a book I picked up at the Book Cellar [a local bookstore] recently. It’s called Behind the Stories by Diane Eble, and it consists of interviews and personal stories by Christian authors. A recurring theme I’m noticing is that of surrender to God’s will despite personal ambitions and desires.
All of these writers had a strong desire to write, but more specifically, they had the desire to express God’s love and the message of the Gospel through their writing. Many of them are fiction writers, also. As I continue reading through this book (averaging two interviews a day), I can’t help but see many similarities in my own life.
I have a strong desire to write my own thoughts and ideas in the form of fiction, I want to express the joy and pure emotion in serving God and how He speaks and dwells with his people, and I want it to be more than just a hobby. I want it to mean something to people; to dig deep into their hearts and personalities and plant a seed that will spring up to bear much fruit for God.
With the discovery of Behind the Stories, and my recent decision to experiment with minimal planning, I can’t help but feel that some big changes are on the way (or, at least, in the works).
I just left a progress update about the book on Goodreads and wrote this statement:
I feel as if this excellent book is breaking me into pieces and putting me back together again.
To Do or Not To Do…
But, really, I feel as if that’s what God has been doing lately. And it hurts! The emotions I’ve been experiencing lately are overwhelming. There’s joy unspeakable, spiritual guilt, a longing to express but knowing that it can’t be put into words—too many to mention or even explain.
Oddly enough—gloriously enough—there’s no fear and no doubt that everything is going to work out according to God’s plan and purposes (Romans 8:28; Isaiah 55:11). There’s such a peace that I’m almost afraid of not being afraid!
Sunday felt like a breakthrough for me. My pastor, Jerry H. preached out of 1 Kings 18, where Elijah was challenging Jezebel’s 450 prophets of Baal to prove who the real and true God was (and is). He [Elijah] asked them…
Throughout Jerry’s message, it was like God was asking me the same question; not in the sense of idol worship [like in the scripture reference], but in the sense of making a decision.
I’m the world’s worst when it comes to making decisions, and as Jerry continued to preach, the Lord continued to bring back to my memory other scriptures He’s revealed to me in the past regarding this problem. Verses like James 1:8:
And Joel 3:14:
In the latter verse, “decision” actually refers to a sharp threshing instrument, based on the context of the two verses both before and after Joel 3:14. In that light, it’s like God is saying “My judgment is coming, there’s no time to put it off any longer, what are you going to do?”
The thought that finally stuck with me the most is this: Either do the thing or don’t do it, but don’t straddle the fence!
How long halt ye between two opinions? - The prophet Elijah, 1 Kings 18:21
Even if I make a wrong decision, at least I’ve made a decision rather than staying stuck in the limbo of indecision, where no progress of any kind [lives]. Even in the midst of a wrong decision, God can direct me towards the right decision; but if I don’t move at all, how can He direct my steps then?
A Different Kind of Personal Planner
This brings me back to when I was talking about feeling as if some big changes were in the works at the beginning of this entry. I mentioned minimal planning. Well, here’s the deal with that: I’m tired of always having to keep up with tasks that I have or haven’t completed, so I’ve decided to take a break from planning in my Passion Planner beginning next week. I’ll only be listing the have-to” (Dentist appointments, singings, and other scheduled events), not the “want-to” (completing X number of pages per day, work tasks, etc.).
What started this was I began to think about how the great Bible Characters of old went about their daily business. Did Moses, Abraham, the twelve disciples, Paul, or even Jesus have daily, weekly, or monthly planners? In a word: No! They had God as their personal planner. So that’s what I’m going to try. As my wife, Melissa, pointed out the other day when we had a discussion about this very topic:
God already knows what’s going to happen during your day, so why not let Him plan it for you? - Melissa, my wife (a very smart woman)
So, here I am, writing for nearly an hour, with Melissa by my side working on her own projects while I enjoy an iced mocha [we were at a local coffee shop while I was writing this] and take the day as it comes. God’s in charge and I’m just waiting for the next assignment, eager to see what He can do through me. And let me tell you, that feeling is priceless!
P.S. Be that thing God has called, equipped, and allowed you to be!
Featured Resources
Pictured L–R:
Behind the Stories by Diane Eble
The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction by Jeff Gerke
Writing for the Soul by Jerry B. Jenkins
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