MAKING GOD-LED DECISIONS
We are often unable to decide, unwilling to choose, unwilling to commit, because we are afraid. We are afraid of choosing wrongly. How can we be sure we are making the right decisions?
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It’s a common occurrence for us to be unable to make a decision. We just can’t seem to commit to a course of action.
Sometimes this is called analysis paralysis. “I can’t make up my mind.”
It’s a kind of procrastination, beating around the bush. “I can keep putting off the big choices. I just don’t know what God’s calling me to.”
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KNOW THAT WE CANNOT BE 100% SURE
We can’t have certainty in prudential decisions.
We can know with certainty what not to do (for example, we know we should never murder anybody, and you should never blaspheme), but we can’t know with certainty what we should do in any given situation.
That’s because, in any given situation, there are always countless factors to consider.
And so when making a practical decision, we can never be sure that we are not missing a crucial element.
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But if we can’t have certainty in our choices and commitments, how can we be sure we are in the right decisions?
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TRUST IN GOD
The only solution is to trust that God, who does know all the crucial factors in any situation, will be able
- To guide us an
- To be able to draw good out of our imperfect choices.
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USING OUR CAPACITY FOR PRUDENT DECISION MAKING
God does not tell us explicitly what to do nor make the decisions for us.
God gave us the capacity for prudent decision-making, and He wants us
- to use it, and
- to take responsibility for our own decisions.
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DOING OUR PART
So don’t sit around waiting for some kind of mystical private revelation telling us what to do.
We need to take responsibility,
- make a decision, and then
- have trust that our Father who loves us will guide us in the right paths.
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THE EXAMPLE OF ST JOSEPH
God had a plan for Joseph.
But God didn’t tell Joseph that plan.
God usually doesn’t tell us what His plan for us is, so don’t expect Him to.
And when Joseph found out that his betrothed was pregnant, he had to come to a decision as best he could, with the information available.
Joseph was a just man. He did his best to make a prudential decision.
And he decided wrongly. He decided to divorce Mary quietly.
So what does God do?
Does God say, “Well Joseph, I had this great vocation lined up for you. You were going to be the Foster-Father of the Son of God and the Husband of the Queen of the Universe. But since you discerned wrongly, forget it. Now you’ll just have to settle for a second-rate life.”
Of course not!
God wants us to use our faculties as best we can, but then He supplements for our limited judgment.
He doesn’t leave Joseph to his own devices.
He sends an angel to steer Joseph back on the right path.
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DO NOT BE AFRAID OF DISCERNING WRONGLY
Don’t be afraid of discerning wrongly, of judging imperfectly.
As long as you’re trying to do the right thing, and as long as you’re not avoiding commitment, the Lord will direct you the way He wants you to go. YOU
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TRUST AND RESPONSIBILITY
There are two great principles that we learn from the discernment of St. Joseph
- God loves us and has a plan for us and God is going to help us fulfill that plan. God is going to guide Us and watch over us and do whatever He can to help us realize an astonishing and unforeseeably magnificent destiny. So we can trust Him with our life.
- God wants us to take responsibility for our own lives.
God doesn’t send His angel to guide Joseph until Joseph has done his best to make a decision based on his own prudential abilities.
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WE CANNOT SHRUG OFF OUR RESPONSIBILITY
So we can’t shrug off responsibility on God.
This is our life.
We have to pray, deliberate, consider, and then make a decision about how you are going to give glory by trying to do something worthwhile.
And whether it’s a decision about whom to marry, what job to pursue, what parenting decisions to make, or where to invest our money, remember, we are never going to be certain that we making the best possible decision.
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WE HAVE GOD WATCHING OVER US
But we do have the best possible God watching over us.
If we entrust ourselves and our decision-making to Him, he will draw good from whatever poor efforts we put into trying to serve Him as prudently as we can.
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