Why do Christians become so afraid of making the “wrong” decision?

Sometimes we treat God’s will like a tightrope. One wrong step and somehow we have ruined his plan for our lives.

We imagine there is one perfect decision waiting to be discovered. If we could just gather enough information, pray a little longer, think a little harder, maybe fast, and maybe get one more sign from God, we would finally find the flawless path–the one path that guarantees success and protects us from regret.

Not so. Wisdom can help you have less regrets. You are not protected from all regrets.

Also, you are not one decision away from ruining God’s plan.

God is not fragile.

I think our fear of making the wrong decision begins with a wrong picture of God. We imagine God is fragile. That God is falling apart in heaven because of our stupidity. That our decision-making is so powerful that one bad choice can derail everything God intended to do.

God is not fragile. God is love. And love doesn’t coerce. True love emerges through participation. God doesn’t need to control us into making every decision exactly right. He enjoys participating with us in our lives. That is the design of love.

God is also generous.

James 1:5 says, If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

Do you see the partnership? God invites us to ask for wisdom, and he gives it generously. God doesn’t fall apart when we don’t know what to do. God doesn’t rebuke us for asking. God meets us in our uncertainty and invites us to walk with him.

God invites us into a trusting relationship with him. He isn’t asking us to become omniscient so we can make decisions without him. God is inviting us to walk with him.

That’s a very different way to think about God’s will.

This myth of the perfect decision exposes us to something we probably don’t want to admit. We want to be omniscient. Which, of course, we aren’t.

Omniscient means having unlimited, complete, or infinite knowledge and it is one of the characteristics that is uniquely God. God, not you.

Life doesn’t give us control over everything. And wisdom isn’t about finding the perfect decision.

Wisdom is about trusting God enough to take the next faithful step. God isn’t asking you to make perfect decisions. He’s inviting you into a trusting relationship.

(It seems to always come back to trust issues, doesn’t it?)

We also tend to believe every choice is irreversible. We think there is a Plan A, and if we miss Plan A, we’ve somehow missed God’s best blessing forever.

The Christian life is a wide path. The Christian life is not a narrow tightrope. It is a wide, forgiving path.

Psalm 18:36 says (once again I quote from Psalm 18), You have made a wide path for my feet to keep them from slipping.

Who made the path? God did. Who made the path wide? God did.

Perhaps he made it wide because he wants us to participate in our lives?

Certainty can disguise itself as wisdom.

More often than we realize, we are choosing between a right decision and a right decision. We think there must be one perfect choice, but sometimes God gives us genuine freedom of many good choices. Sometimes wisdom doesn’t require finding the one hidden answer. It requires bringing character, prayer, counsel, circumstances, desire, and trust to a decision—and then choosing.

The wide path matters here. God’s love wants us participating with him. The through-line of the Bible shows us repeatedly that God accommodates and consents to us all of the time. God works in participatory ways because God is most interested in us–in reunion and relationship.

You may have several good choices in front of you. You may have to make a decision without knowing exactly how it will turn out. And you may make an imperfect decision.

If you do make an imperfect decision, you have not surprised God. You are not one decision away from destroying God’s plan for your life.

And really, what is wrong with Plan B? (Come back next week.)

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