Unless the Lord

Week Twenty-One | Fifty-Two 5.29.21

Decisions. We make a lot of them, as in more than 35,000. Every single day.

Some are forever.

Some are forming.

Some are forgettable.

Some can bring life and gift joy.

Some can drain life and grip joy.

I’ve been in the arms of both, and I imagine you have too.

I am also a chronic over-thinker. But I’ve learned (and am still learning) a few secrets to getting out of my head and on to my next right step.

But there’s a part of me that wants to freeze right now, to be honest. Because the decision to share just a fraction of the whole feels like not-enough, and I’d prefer perfect. Also, I don’t ever want to come across as a know-it-all because goodness me, I don’t.  And I certainly don’t want to misguide anyone. 

However, I want you to know that I know, you know, there’s always more ~ and always mystery.

So for the sake of sharing a small piece of His holy work inside of me, here are a few practices I’ve taken to heart when it comes to deciding to decide. (And yeah, they happen to all start with a “G”. I may or may not have done that on purpose. :)

~ Get to Jesus. Ask Him what *He thinks first because, “Unless the Lord builds a house [or whatever your thing is], the work of the builders [that would be you and me] is wasted.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭127:1‬

If everything really is from Him, and through Him, and to Him, then I really don’t want to waste His beautiful time. 

~ Give it a day. Maybe more. Or at a minimum, just take five minutes and listen for His still, small voice.

Most decisions are not emergencies.

It’s okay to breathe deep and slow your racing thoughts down.

It’s good to *be before you do.

Often, I’ve found wisdom in the form of two opposing yet clarifying “arrows” :

Peace or Unrest.

And these arrows can come in various ways and through varying whispers, but the ones from His heart to yours, always carry life-giving Truth. Just don’t forget, truth can sometimes wound you whole.

~ Go scared or wait brave, with the end in mind. Because being fully alive to our people, places, and portions requires remembering that, in Christ, my weakness is strength. My loss is gain. My story is Finished.

And at the end of the day, after every decision has been made, there is this redeeming hope:

“If I desire to please God with the decision I make [even the smallest ones, that somehow seem to matter the most], and afterwards it proves to be a mistake, it’s an error not an end.” Lysa Terkeurst

Which I think is a pretty perfect way to end all of our Getting, Giving, and Going with ...

~ Grace. The undeserved Yes and Amen that not only makes any decision makeable, but re•markable. Glory to God.