Making Decisions When You Hear Two Voices

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Dear Kids,

No one makes it through life without facing some life-shaping decisions. Even one who resolves not to take one road or another is making the decision to stay where they are. And this choice also affects their life. Some decisions are no-brainers. Others stretch the mind. But what happens when you have two options with possible outcomes that could be good or bad? How do you make sure you are choosing the right one?

Following Two Voices

Those who know me best recognize that I am directionally challenged. As I have often admitted I rely heavily on Google Maps to take me wherever I need to go. The other day I began to drive to a nearby place of business. Since I don’t go there often I, of course, asked SIRI to guide me. It wasn’t long before I realized she was guiding me to the wrong place. This place of business has two offices and she was leading me to the incorrect one. So I stopped the car, Googled the correct information, and entered the appropriate address.

Confidently, I started out again following her advice until something strange happened. My technological advisor told me to turn left, but when I did so she immediately started chirping, “Reroute, reroute!” This kept happening until the opposing commands had me completely confused. I pulled over to the side of the road again to figure out my dilemma, and that’s when I realized the problem.

When I had typed in the new address I hadn’t turned off the first navigation router. So, now two voices were telling me where to go. They were guiding me to different places with the same business name, but the addresses were in opposite directions. Only one of the locations had what I needed. That’s where I had to go.

Making Decisions Can Be Confusing

I find that life’s decisions are often like this. Where should I go to school? Who should I marry? Should I invest or shouldn’t I? The possibilities for good and bad can race around in our heads until our thoughts tangle into a ball of confusion. But the decisions must be made.

James tells us that those who lack wisdom should ask of God who gives generously. Now God does not always immediately make the answers plain and clear, but He does promise to guide us when we wholeheartedly seek Him. So we must pray and ask Him to show us the correct way.

Wisdom For Making Decisions

Next, we must seek God’s will through His word. We can eliminate some of our options by comparing them against the Bible. Is the issue a matter of sin? If so, the answer is obvious. God would not want us to make that choice.

Then, we can ask knowledgeable and wise counselors to give us advice and list the pros and cons of each possibility. After we have done all our homework, prayed for wisdom, and thoughtfully weighed all the options, we must make the decision and trust God for the outcome. He is completely able to close doors at any time and lead in a different direction. By going through this process we may still experience questions about whether we made the right choice, but we can have confidence that God will keep His word. He promises to give wisdom when we ask, and we must believe and not doubt.

So the next time you hear two voices in your head giving conflicting opinions about the direction you should take, don’t panic. Do what James suggests. Ask God for wisdom, do all your homework thoroughly, and then make the decision with confidence. God is faithful! And who knows to what exciting places He will take you!

Love,

Mama