A Biblical Guide to Decision Making

Following “God’s Will” can be understood 3 ways:

1. God’s sovereign will. This is also known as God’s ordained will or his hidden will. Refers to what God has decided will happen. He doesn’t tell us the details of this in the Bible.

• Acts 4:27-28

2. God’s revealed will. Also known as God’s moral will or will of desire. These are God’s clear instructions and commands in Scripture that are intended for our good. If God’s sovereign will describes how things are, God’s revealed will describes how things ought to be. 

• Matthew 7:21 

3. God’s will of direction. This is what many of us mean when we speak of “God’s will for my life.” We might humorously also call it God’s “secret will,” because this is how we often subconsciously think of it. Many of us think, “God has a will just for my life and in every decision I make. There can only be one right answer in each case, and it’s my job to figure out what it is.” While well-intended, this treats God as a riddle to be solved. But as Kevin DeYoung says, “While we are free to ask God for wisdom, He does not burden us with the task of divining His will of direction for our lives ahead of time.”

Principles of Decision Making - The Way of Wisdom

1. In those areas specifically addressed by the Bible, the revealed commands and principles of God (his revealed will) are to be obeyed.
2. In those areas where the Bible gives no command or principle (non-moral decisions), the believer is free and responsible to choose their own course of action. 
3. In non-moral decisions, the goal of the Christian is to make wise decisions on the basis of practicality (i.e., what makes sense).
4. In all decisions, the Christian wants to humbly submit, in advance, to the outworking of God’s sovereign will as it touches each decision.

Further nuance and practical suggestions

1. Rule out what is clearly wrong. This is according to God’s revealed will (what He has clearly told us).
2. Grow in biblical wisdom for the long haul. The Bible isn’t a textbook with all the answers to every scenario you'll ever face. Rather, it’s shaping you to be the kind of person who will think God’s thoughts after him, who will have godly leanings and intuitions regarding choices that you face later in life.
3. Some good choices could be wrong for you. Given your background or personality, certain choices may be fine, but not the best for you.
4. Know where you are weak, and compensate for it. 
5. Don’t mistake confusion for doing the wrong thing. Making a decision doesn’t mean you’ll automatically have peace about it. 
6. Get well-balanced counsel (Prov. 11:14). One kind of counsel is someone who is close to you, knows you, and wants what is good for you. Another kind of counsel is from someone who has zero stake in your choices, and therefore can be more objective. A third kind of counsel is from a bit of a hybrid of the first two, namely, someone who does care about you and knows how you’re wired, yet is also relationally and/or geographically distant enough from you that your decisions won’t affect them.
7. Own your responsibility and make a decision, while loosening your grip on control. Be wise and seek out information that will help you make a reasonable decision, but trust God – not your “omniscience.” 

Questions for Reflection

• For your own life, are you more prone to over-emphasize God’s sovereignty (minimizing your own responsibility) or to make an idol out of control (wanting to know every little detail before making a decision)? 
• What is a thought or principle from this lesson that you want to better implement in your own life? How would your life be different if you grew in this area?

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