When faced with the big decisions life brings, how do we accurately judge if something is truly of God or not? How do we move forward with the confidence of knowing (that we know that we know) that God said it, and it’s supposed to be what we do, where we go, or what we stop doing?
Proverbs 27:9 and Proverbs 15:22 tell us there’s wisdom in a multitude of counsel. In other words, wisdom is the fruit of involving others and asking for advice and guidance from wise people. But while friends and peers may add perspective on the less-weightier matters of life, we need a different caliber of counsel when the decisions we’re facing are potentially life-altering. (Just like sometimes, certain medical issues require a specialist’s attention, as opposed to the care of a general practitioner.)
We see this modeled in scripture. Moses served as judge to the children of Israel on their way from Egypt to the Promise Land. There were issues that could be handled amongst the tribes by wise leaders that Moses had appointed. But the weightier matters were brought to Moses. (Exodus 18:14-24)
So first, when making difficult decisions, we all need people we can go to that are further ahead in life and their spiritual walk than we are. People who we know seek God, hear His voice, and have evidence of wisdom marking their lives. But ultimately, the decisions always land back in our laps. We personally have to decide and take responsibility for those decisions. How do we do that confidently?
In 30+ years of marriage there have been more, but I can immediately think of 3 times that I, or my husband and I, have had to make some really difficult, life-altering decisions. We collected the data and facts. We asked the right questions. We tried to look ahead as much as possible to where the trajectory of our decision(s) would lead us. We also considered what saying “yes” to some of those things would require us to say “no” to. We had our lists of pros and cons. We spoke with leaders and pastors who were entrusted with our care. But ultimately, those decisions always came rolling back into our court for us to make the call. How did we do it? There are 3 measuring sticks by which I’ve learned to judge my decisions: righteousness, peace, and joy.
“…the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 14:17b NKJV
All three of these must be done in the Holy Spirit. This has taught me that decisions cannot be made merely from the place of logic. Data is important. Like I said before, I/we consider the facts. But ultimately in my life I have learned that all facts and data must fall subservient to the Holy Spirit’s authority. Godly wisdom works at a much higher dimension than facts and data. So what do righteousness, peace, and joy mean as they relate to decision making?
Righteousness – Not to oversimplify, but this is basically doing the right thing with the right intentions, and from the right place and posture. In other words, is my decision God-honoring (in alignment with Who God is and what His word has already made clear for me as His daughter). Will this decision result in me/us fulfilling our purpose to a greater degree? Am I having to forsake or turn away from something He’s given me responsibility to steward?
Secondly, am I making this decision from the posture of righteousness, in other words, knowing my position in Christ? There’s no fear here. There’s no drive of self-promotion. There’s no sense of self-preservation. There’s no orphan mentality. No performance-based mentality. I’m not running from anything or anyone and I’m not trying to accomplish anything in my own strength, nor am I trying to do anything that God has already instructed me to not do.
Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong-then guide me on the road to eternal life.Psalm 139:23-24 MSG
Joy – Even though Roman’s doesn’t put them in this order, I wanted to speak about Joy next. To me, joy is like a supernatural energy that only the Holy Spirit can produce. I’ve come to recognize that God-decisions are marked by its oil and its fragrance.
Joy feels….innocent. It’s child-like. It oozes love and hopeful vision. There’s no nervousness in it. You feel wrapped by it. Protected by it. It produces light that radiates. And even if the road ahead looks challenging, Joy overshadows all that because of this overwhelming and undergirding sense that God is with you in it, and that He’s going to take care of every single thing you need. Joy is like a surge of energy that erupts within, allowing us to move forward in confidence and accomplish what is before us.
Peace – I saved this for last because this is THE ONE for me. Peace is the spiritual gavel that finalizes all decisions.
In all my years of walking with God and making decision after decision, I can honestly say PEACE has more often than not been the final straw that has swayed me one way or another. NOTHING CAN TOUCH PEACE, and nothing serves as a more accurate measuring stick of knowing if I’m in God’s will or not.
There have been times when opportunities and decisions I’ve faced have on the surface appeared to be good, righteous, noble things. There have been times when I’ve felt the energy of joy surrounding certain possibilities. Let’s face it, the ideas of new adventures are exciting! But if I limited my decision making to the barometers of righteousness and joy, it can honestly still be hard to know if I’m making the right decision or not. But when I hold that same decision up to the measuring stick of peace? There’s no mistake. I either have it, or I don’t.
Even if the enemy can disguise himself as an angel of light to try and deceive me, take me off course, or entice me with things that are not meant for me, I know that peace is an arena he has no access to. He can’t manipulate peace or counterfeit it. Not to say he can counterfeit righteousness or joy either, but in my experience peace stands in an arena all on its own.
Peace is found in the quiet place, an inner-chamber room that feels safe, warm, comforting, and stripped bare of all the clutter that could cloud my decision making. It’s an assuring Presence that settles everything down. All the moving pieces are suspended and the decision I was facing no longer becomes the decision, if that makes sense. The greater issue is testing if that decision allows me to remain in this place of abiding in His peace or it moves me away from it. If I can’t feel peace, or even if I feel a reduced measure of it, I know I need to back off.
I have never regretted saying no to a decision or an opportunity that I didn’t have peace about. Never. And I can offer you the same truth – you won’t either. The other side of that same coin is that measuring decisions by peace has also kept me from the temptation of second-guessing any decision later on down the road when the terrain got challenging. There’s simply no room for wondering, “Did I really hear God?” Because peace is undeniable.
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27 NLT
Linda G Riddle 
Good word. 👍
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