The Stressless LifeExemple

Day Six: Choices, Choices—How Do I Find God’s Peace in My Decision-Making? Scripture: Proverbs 6:20-23, James 1:5 Often, our stress about decision-making boils down to our fear of making the wrong decision. Does that mean we need to resign ourselves to becoming stressed out whenever we make big decisions? No! There is a solution. To find it, let’s look at four proverbs: • “Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in an abundance of counselors there is victory” (Proverbs 11:14). • “Through overconfidence comes nothing but strife, but wisdom is with those who receive counsel” (Proverbs 13:10). • “One who walks with wise men will be wise, but a companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20). • “A wise person is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless” (Proverbs 14:16). Wisdom is the solution. When we have wisdom, we’re able to discern between good decisions and bad decisions—which is a great way to eliminate stressors and experience God’s peace. So how do we get wisdom, and how do we make wise decisions? First, we make wise decisions by saturating ourselves in God’s Word. Way back when I was in middle school, I had a youth pastor who challenged me to read a chapter of Proverbs a day for one month as there are thirty-one chapters. That was wise counsel. I recommend you start exactly where I started: read a chapter from Proverbs every day. Make that a foundational part of your fellowship with Christ as He lives in you and through you. Second, we make wise decisions by seeking wise counsel in our lives. And I’m not talking about professional counselors here—pastors included. I’m talking about our relationships. We need to invite godly people who know us well and are allowed to tell us the truth into our decision-making: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a person who listens to advice is wise” (Proverbs 12:15). You can grow in wisdom by saturating yourself in God’s Word, which is filled with His wisdom. And you can set up helpful guardrails around your decision-making by not only seeking out wise and godly people to offer you instruction and advice but also listening to what they have to say—and even accepting correction and reproof when you’re pushing yourself in the wrong direction. Who in your life is a trusted counselor? Are you open to loving correction from those you trust? Be intentional to have godly, wise, and honest friends who care enough to tell you the truth.