“And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, you are slowly turning this control thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish one,” wrote C.S. Lewis—simply through the decisions you make. If the choices we face truly carry such eternal weight, how can a Christian ensure they are making the right ones?
The phrase “Your will be done” appears in the model prayer Jesus gave to His disciples. It conveys submission to God’s plans, acknowledging divine omniscience in contrast to our human limitations.
Indeed, Jesus’s entire life was marked by a spirit of submission. “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him” (John 8:29). Even in Gethsemane, when “[t]he sins of men weighed heavily upon Christ, and the sense of God’s wrath against sin was crushing out His life”[1], He prayed for the cup of suffering to pass from Him—yet concluded, “Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). It was this perfect surrender to God’s will that became the very foundation of humanity’s hope for salvation.
Though not all biblical figures consistently demonstrated submission to God’s revealed will, many sought divine guidance when faced with decisions of great consequence—whether for themselves or for their people.
Balaam, the fallen prophet, consulted God before responding to the messengers of the king of Moab. King David regularly inquired of the Lord before going into battle against Israel’s enemies. Gideon asked for clear, supernatural signs to confirm his calling to lead a spiritual renewal among his people.
In a world vastly different from that of the biblical characters, the modern Christian doesn’t have access to more, or even more sophisticated, means of discerning God’s guidance. Some even believe that divine direction today is far less evident than it once was. Or perhaps the relentless pace of modern life simply leaves us less willing to give God space to speak into our decisions.
Between our choices and God’s will
According to researcher Sheena Iyengar, the average American makes around 70 conscious decisions each day—that’s over 25,000 decisions in a single year. For CEOs, a study found that they handle roughly 139 tasks per week, with more than half of their decisions made in nine minutes or less.
But how can anyone be sure they’re making the right decision—in nine minutes, nine hours, or even nine days? How do we distinguish between choices that will have little lasting impact and those that could shape the trajectory of our lives, even if we don’t recognise it at the time? And what methods are available to help us determine whether our choices are truly aligned with God’s will?
Few topics are more shrouded in uncertainty than that of divine guidance in the everyday or pivotal decisions of a Christian’s life.
One initial perspective on this issue relates to the flexibility and freedom that a genuine Christian enjoys when making decisions. According to Christian professor Jerry Sittser, there are fundamentally two ways to live: in fellowship with God, or apart from Him. For those who have chosen God, His will is already revealed: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).
Therefore, when we give God the first place in our lives, the decisions we make each day cannot be “‘outside’ the will of God because we are already ‘inside’ that will”[2]. On one hand, this view offers a sense of confidence, security, and freedom in making decisions. On the other, as Sittser explains, it is often only in hindsight that we come to see we were exactly where God intended us to be.
Another perspective on divine guidance suggests that when we were endowed with the ability to reason, we were given all the guidance we need. This was also the philosophy of the Sadducees in Jesus’s time, who believed that once God created humankind, He essentially left them to navigate life on their own.
Such a view tends to elevate intellectual capacity over spiritual orientation, pastor Morris Venden says. He revisits and analyses the steps to understanding God’s will as practiced by George Müller, illustrating them with both personal and biblical examples. Like Sittser, Venden emphasises the importance of knowing God beyond moments of crisis or difficult choices. At the same time, he maintains that divine guidance is available for life’s everyday issues—guidance that is tailored to our needs and aimed at leading us toward the best possible choices for both our present and future.
Steps toward wise decisions
God’s plan for our lives never arrives in the form of a neatly written letter dropped off by the mailman. Christians who long to receive guidance—and to be a blessing in return—need a living, ongoing relationship with God.
The Bible promises specific guidance to those who seek to live in obedience: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” (Psalm 32:8).
Knowing the One who holds the future
God does not want us to stumble in the dark when faced with important decisions—especially since the future is an open book to Him. At the same time, we cannot seek Him only when we reach a crossroads in life, pastor Morris Venden says. He outlines a few self-assessment questions that reveal the health of our relationship with God: Are we familiar with the ways He speaks and interacts with us? Do we speak to God in prayer even when we have nothing to ask for—simply for the joy of being with Him? Do we know what it means to set aside the best part of our day for prayer and Bible study?
When the answer to these questions is yes, we’re ready to take the next step: discerning God’s will in the details of our daily lives.
Asking the right questions
Christian author Ruth Haley Barton offers a series of practical questions that can help guide not only Christian leaders, but anyone seeking to make the best possible decisions:
- Does the choice I’m considering align with the pattern or direction God has been shaping in my life so far? Will this decision bring me closer to that pattern? In most cases, new steps will add to, expand, and enrich a discernible pattern. However, there are times—like in the story of Joseph—when God’s plan may lead us to a new level that seems disconnected from previous experience.
- Which option brings me a sense of inner peace and freedom? As I consider a particular path, do I feel confident that choosing it will allow me to remain whole, genuine, and true to my values?
- How well does this decision fit with the gifts and mission that fellow believers—my friends, church community, or spiritual mentors—believe God has entrusted to me?
Deliberating in a spirit of prayer
“Prayer is the incubator of our best ideas and the source of our freshest creativity. Prayer is our lifeline to finding and fulfilling God’s perfect will in all we say and do,” says pastor David Jeremiah, emphasising the importance of making prayer a way of life.
No matter how overwhelmingly complex the choices before us may seem, how little information we have, or how limited our experience is, Scripture promises that we will receive the wisdom we need to handle any situation we face: “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” (James 1:5).
Verses like these offer a glimpse into the heart of a loving God who will “give good gifts to those who ask him” (see Matthew 7:11).
If you could only take one step toward making a decision, that step should be prayer, Morris Venden says. God is eager to guide us through life’s complexities, but He does so one step at a time. He doesn’t overwhelm us today with the details of tomorrow, nor does He hand us a crystal ball. Instead, He’s far more interested in building a close, daily relationship with us.
Listening to the teaching of Scripture
Christians believe that the Bible is a vital source of guidance—“useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). Still, the Bible doesn’t offer direct answers to questions like whom to marry, where to buy a house, or which career path to pursue.
What it does provide are principles that can be applied to personal situations. Even then, we may find ourselves with several good options, each offering compelling advantages. In such moments, if we seek special guidance, it becomes just as essential to understand that Scripture is not only informative but also a means of connecting and communing with God.
Watching for open and closed doors
Understanding how God works through circumstances can be challenging—especially when those circumstances don’t fit neatly into our reasoning, says April Motl in an article on Christianity.com. An open door from God doesn’t necessarily mean a smooth, obstacle-free path. David’s journey to the throne, for example, was marked by losses and dangers. He needed patience and faith to see God’s promises fulfilled.
It is not wise to rely on a single step when seeking to make decisions in line with God’s will, and this is especially true when it comes to the criterion of open and closed doors—a point that cannot be emphasised enough.
While we may be deeply focused on a specific choice, no matter how significant it seems, we should remember that God is concerned with both our present and our future. More than anything, He cares about our character and the kind of person we’re becoming in the process.
Lessons we can learn about ourselves and our decisions
Life is a continuous string of choices, and for a Christian, the most significant of these is the decision to accept the gift of salvation.
A key lesson in learning to include God in our decision-making is the strengthening of our faith, journalist and author Pam Palagyi says. We need to believe that God is genuinely interested in communicating with us—and His will becomes clearer as we continue to seek His presence.
God doesn’t work in a vacuum. He often uses both circumstances and people to guide us through life. Christian missionary and author Elisabeth Elliot shared that the prayers and advice of fellow believers were a great help to her during crises and crossroads: “They see things I simply don’t see. They’ve been over roads I’ve never traveled. They have perspective I couldn’t possibly have.”
To make wise decisions, we need to have God’s peace in our hearts, writer John Ortberg says. Growth doesn’t mean being drained by endless indecision or living in fear of missing out on the best option through a poor choice. In fact, in Jesus Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3), and as His children, we can live with confidence in His guidance.
Ultimately, God is not focused on shielding us from every hardship or failure, nor is He concerned that our decisions be flawless—only that they be fully surrendered to Him, Ortberg concludes.
And if our past is marked by poor choices we can no longer change, drowning in guilt and discouragement is not the answer. We have the solid promise of forgiveness—and the gift of today. With these, we can shape a present far better than any moment in our past ever was.
Carmen Lăiu is an editor of Signs of the Times Romania and ST Network.