Nine Steps for Making Good Decisions

Some Guidelines from God’s Word

Every day is filled with countless decisions. Do I take the Hwy 31 Bridge or the I-565 Bridge? Lunch at Chick-fil-A or Chipotle? Watch the Winter Olympics or the Alabama-Arkansas basketball game? Most of these decisions are relatively inconsequential and often unconscious.

But some decisions are very consequential and can change the trajectory of your life. Part of following Jesus is getting in the habit of making good decisions. Here are nine steps for making good and wise decisions that will not only bless you with greater happiness and joy, but also bless everyone around you.

In other words, whether you realize it or not, the rest of us really need you to make good decisions!

1. Prayer: Are you asking God to help you?

When Paul told the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Th. 5:17), he described a Godward life. This is a person fully aware, from waking to sleeping, that they are living coram Deo, before the face of God. It doesn’t mean you have to stop, close your eyes, and kneel every 5 minutes. This ongoing conversation with God can happen anywhere, anytime, about anything. Whether you’re driving home from work, or taking your run, or laying in bed at night for those few moments before you fall to sleep, you can ask God for help in making decisions. James tells us that if we lack wisdom we are to “ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5). The Lord wants you to ask him for help on this decision you are facing!

o If no, stop and pray.

o If yes, go to 2.

2. Prohibitions: Is it specifically prohibited in the Bible?

In praying, you talk to God while he listens. In Bible study, God talks to you while you listen. Sometimes in Scripture, God will clearly and specifically tell you that something is his will for you. If it is his will for you, you should obey it.

For example, Paul tells the Thessalonians that “this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality”(1 Thess. 4:3). For our good and God’s glory, he forbids us from sexual intimacy with anyone outside of marriage. Sex is God’s good gift to one man and one woman who have vowed before God to be faithful to one another until one of them dies. All other sexual intimacy is forbidden. So if you are trying to decide whether or not to have that affair or sleep with your girlfriend I have good news for you. God has already made the decision for you.

Similarly, God won’t give you the name of the person he wants you to marry, but he has done a lot of the work for you by eliminating a lot of options when he says “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14).

Trying to decide if you have a drinking problem? If your drinking is causing problems, you have a drinking problem. Because of the damage it does to your body, soul, relationships, and testimony, Scripture gives you this clear prohibition: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Take decisive action to get whatever help you need to stop.

The lack of specific prohibition is a necessary condition for proceeding, but it is not a sufficient condition. You still have some work to do.

o If yes, obey Scripture

o If no, go to 3.

3. Prescriptions: Is it specifically prescribed in the Bible?

Mark Twain gets credit for saying, “It ain’t the parts of the Bible that I can’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts that I do understand.” While there are many statements in Scripture that require some disciplined thinking to understand, most of the moral imperatives are clear.

For example, if you are still young enough to live at home, financially dependent on your parents, Scripture plainly speaks: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” (Eph. 6:1).

And when Jesus gives the Great Commisison to the apostles, commanding them to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt. 29:19) that’s not a suggestion. Every believer is strategically placed and responsible to do their part to share the gospel with the world and help people know, love, obey and exalt Jesus.

So if you’re trying to decide whether or not to invest your time in building meaningful friendships with unbelievers with a view to seeing them come to Christ, you don’t have to keep spinning your wheels on this one anymore. Just do it!

o If yes, obey Scripture

o If no, go to 4.

4. Principles: Do Biblical truths advise in favor of this?

Maybe there’s no clear prohibition or prescription in the Bible regarding your decision, but that still doesn’t mean you have a green light. The Bible doesn’t try to address every possible circumstance you find yourself in. It would be impractically huge, and it’s already a big book. Not only that, Scripture was completed nearly 2000 years ago, which is why it doesn’t specifically address your screen time issues.

But the Bible does teach timeless principles that apply to every modern day circumstance. For example, the Bible never mentions Plan-C abortion pills that allow mothers of unborn babies to stop the beating heart in their wombs and induce a miscarriage. Or as Planned Parenthood puts it, “The medicine causes cramping and bleeding that empties your uterus.” But the occupant of Elizabeth’s uterus is clearly categorized as a “baby” in Luke 1:41,44. Combined with the clear Biblical prohibition against murder and you can form a timeless principle: Every human being, born and unborn, is made in the image of God and has a right to life.

In another example, you can’t find the word “pornography” in the Bible. Nonetheless, you can find principles in Scripture that will lead you to make good decisions, such as Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount: “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). The principle: You can be unfaithful to your spouse in ways other than physical adultery–and physical adultery always starts in the heart.

While these are examples of how biblical principles help you know when “No” is the right decision, other principles help you know when “Yes” is the right decision.

o If no, don’t go.

o If yes, go to 5

5. People: Do wise people think this is a good idea?

By “wise people,” I mean people who have enough life experience to have built a reputation for being able to skillfully discern and apply the truth. They need to be people who know their way around the Bible but who also know you. They are familiar with your circumstances, your strengths, and your weaknesses. Many people are tempted to skip this step because they may really want to do something, but they are afraid a trusted friend won’t agree with them. They’d rather plow ahead without getting wise counsel. But remember that “A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise” (Pr. 15:12).

I mention “people” in the plural because while one trusted friend is good, two or three are better. For the same reason a jury is made up of more than one person, getting multiple perspectives can get you closer to understanding the situation as it really is. Don’t forget that ^“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed (Prov. 15:22). Until you get those advisers advising you on this, you may want to tap the brakes.

o If no, go slow.

o If yes, go to 6.

6. Peace: Is your heart at rest about this choice? Do you desire it?

If you have made it this far, you’ve traveled out of the objective territory of facts to the subjective territory of feelings. And that’s okay.

When Paul was trying to decide whether to stay in Troas or go to Macedonia, what tipped the scales for him is that his “spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there” (2 Cor. 2:12–23). After going through steps 1-5, its okay to turn down the option that doesn’t give you rest.

On the other hand, “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart (Ps. 37:4). Does that mean he will change your desires, or fulfill the ones you have? It doesn’t really matter. The point is that if you have been seeking the Lord’s will and pleasure up until this point, the Lord is pleased if you do what you desire.

Martin Luther is often quoted as saying, “Love God and do what you want,” and I hope he actually said that, but I’ve never been able to track down the source. Perhaps this is based on Augustine’s advice to “Love, and do what you will.”

In other words, if you’ve made it this far, go ahead and do what you want to do. God is a good father, and just like you delight in your children doing what brings them pleasure within the bounds of love and morality, so does God.

You don’t have to feel bad, or selfish, or guilty for deciding to do something that brings you pleasure, peace, and joy. God wants you to enjoy his good gifts.

Recall how Eric Liddell made a big decision based on his feelings when he said, “God made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure…to win is to honor him.” I wrote about it here. You can be sure he took steps 1–6 before he said that.

o Do you desire it? If no, go slow.

o If yes, go to 7.

7. Plans: Have you formed an efficient strategy?

I don’t know how many readers are still with me but if you are, you might be interested in how I decide what to write each week. It’s largely a process like the one I just described. I pray, I consult Scripture, I ask wise people what they think I should write, and then I write what I want. A few days ago, a good friend, and a wise man, suggested to me that I write about this 9-step plan for decision-making because he had heard me preach on it a few years ago. So this week I made a plan and, voila, here I am, writing about it.

Paul had a plan to take the gospel to unreached places (Ro. 15:23–24), but he also knew he had limited time. In order to be effective, he had to be strategic in his travels and logistics. Until you make a plan, you’re just dreaming.

o If no, stop and plan.

o If yes, go to 8

8. Proceed: Are you acting on your plan?

As the old saying goes, “Plan your work, work your plan.”

The book of Proverbs is filled with good advice to people who make it this far but don’t act on their plan. Try this one on for size: “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man” (Prov. 24:33–34).

If no, why not?

If yes, go to 9.

9. Providence: Even if you aren’t 100% sure of your decision, do you trust God to never leave you?

If you wait until you’re 100% sure about your decisions, you won’t ever do much. Sometimes you just have to pull the trigger. Therefore, in every plan we make and every action we take on that plan, we must always stay humble before the Lord. He sees the future we cannot see. He ordains every circumstance for our ultimate good and he reserves the right to change our plans at any time. Heads up and happy deciding!

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”–yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13–15)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Ro. 15:13).

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5).