How do you make the right decision when you don’t know what lies ahead? Does fear of making the wrong decision paralyze you from making any decision at all? If you’re like me, you hate being stuck in indecision. Thankfully, we don’t have to stay stuck. Today I’m going to share
why I trust God to light the right path.
From the Psalms and Prophets of the Old Testament to the New Testament teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, the Bible is filled with promises that God will lead us and guide us. So, let’s dive into Scripture and uncover three practical steps to discern God’s direction.
We’ll discuss how to:
- Seek God’s path
- Embrace God’s teachings
- Trust God’s timing
At the end, I will show you how to personalize two verses in Psalm 25 by turning them into your very own prayer over a decision you have to make. You can lift up this Bible-based prayer in full assurance that God will hear your specific needs and answer you. We can absolutely take God at His Word, but first, we have to know His Word and understand what it says, so I hope you’ll stay with me as I share three practical steps you can take to discern your next step into the unknown.
We start by reading Psalm 25:4-5 (NKJV).
Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
King David wrote Psalm 25. He wouldn’t have written those words if he didn’t trust God to light the way. David looked to God when it came to making decisions about the future, and this psalm will help us do the same.
Here’s the nugget in Psalm 25:4-5 that I invite you to declare with me
I trust God to light the right path.
I encourage you to read all of Psalm 25 so that you can see verses 4-5 in context. The entire Psalm is a plea for deliverance and forgiveness. David understood that God is the source of deliverance and forgiveness.
If you know David’s story, then you know he made choices that led him into sin. We’re talking serious sin like murder and sleeping with his neighbor’s wife. But you may also know that David was a man after God’s heart. David made wrong choices. He made bad decisions, but he also asked for forgiveness. He cried out to God to lead him in the right direction.
David models three steps we can take, not only when we’ve wandered off in the wrong direction, in those times when our own choices have led us astray, but also when we’re trapped by no fault of our own and desperately need to know the best path forward.
The first step is to
- Seek God’s path.
David didn’t choose his own path and then ask God to bless it. He asked to know God’s path. My friend, God created you for a purpose. He has a plan for your life and you will be the most content when you live in alignment with God’s plan for you. When you have a decision to make, start by asking God to guide you and then look for indicators of His guidance.
Ask yourself these questions:
- Is my decision motivated by fear?
- Do I feel at peace about doing this?
- Will doing this bring honor and glory to God?
God will never lead you away from Himself or from the assignment He has for you. Taking God’s path might mean turning down a job promotion if it will rob your family of your time and energy. God will never ask you to sacrifice people for things. But He might ask you to sacrifice things for people. Consider God’s priorities and seek His path, not your own.
The next step toward moving out of indecision along God’s path is to:
- Embrace God’s teachings.
We may not understand what God is doing, but we are always better off when we obey Him—even when it doesn’t make sense. I try to remember Isaiah 55:8-9
“My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
We don’t have to understand God in order to trust Him.
Do you trust God to lead you along the right path? Or do you think He might lead you astray?
I trust God to light the right path.
If you do too, would you declare that out loud?
I trust God to light the right path.
In order to embrace God’s teachings, we need to read the Bible. How can we obey God if we don’t know what He instructs us to do? I love how the New Living Translation interprets 2 Timothy 3:16. You might want to write this down:
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
When God shows us the right path to take, it might mean we have to face the music. We might have to deal with wrongs in our past before moving into a brighter future. The right path may not be the easy path, but when God directs it, you will be rewarded for taking it, no matter how hard.
This post is coming from a deep place in my own heart. I have been doing my best to stand strong against making a decision driven by fear. I know that God’s perfect love casts out all fear. I also know that Jesus promised to leave us with the gift of peace. I refuse to fall into the trap of making a fear-based decision. Anyone who knows me fairly well knows that I Keep doing the last thing God led me to do until He leads me to do something different.
I try not to make a change unless God prompts me to change course. Sometimes he gives us directions and then we don’t hear from him for a while. Priscilla Shirer gives a wonderful metaphor to help us wait on God for directions. When you set your GPS for a destination that is several hours away, it communicates a lot at the beginning of your journey, right?
First, we want to
- Seek God’s path.
Make sure your “GPS” isn’t motivated by anything with more power over you than God. Next,
- Embrace God’s teachings.
You could start by reading all of Psalm 25 and maybe Psalm 40 as well. Finally, and this is an important final step, in order to discern God’s path for you, commit to
- Trust God’s timing.
Psalm 25 isn’t the only place where David wrote about waiting on God. I mentioned Psalm 40 because it reveals what happened when David waited patiently with hope and expectation, even though he was in a miry pit of unwanted circumstances. If you’re in a bad place and want to get out, it’s tempting to look for the easy way. But hold on. I once heard someone say,
If God’s got you in the refiner’s fire, don’t try to get out of it. He’ll just light one somewhere else.
The fire is hot and the pit is miry, but hold onto the hope God offers. Be honest with God about your feelings. Tell Him that you want to obey Him and you are doing your best with limited understanding.
Here’s another verse to write down and memorize. Isaiah 30:21 says, Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
I’ve heard that “voice” over and over and it helps keep me from being paralyzed by indecision. One of my all-time favorite movies is the Sound of Music, which has a line I love. “Whenever the Lord closes a door, somewhere He always opens a window.” Rather than wondering why God closed the door or whether we’re supposed to break down the door, look for the open window. It may not appear right away. But it will appear. Remember the promise in Isaiah 30:12 and move toward the open opportunity. God will shut it down if it’s the wrong way to go. He will also close it—at least temporarily—if it’s the wrong time to go.
- Trust God’s timing.
Be patient in the silence. Please don’t rush ahead. Take a moment to declare this:
I trust God to light the right path.
Here’s how you can pray Psalm 25 and personalize it for your needs in this moment:
Show me Your ways, O Lord;
I think I should ________, but I don’t know for sure.
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
Bring to my mind Scriptures that will guide and instruct me in this situation where I’m facing ________________.
Help me hold onto Scriptures like ___________________.
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
I will not move away from _____________
I will not move toward _________________ until I sense the peace of Your loving presence.
I will trust you for ________________ and obey when You tell me to ___________________.
Praying Psalm 25:4-5 has helped me through major life transitions and small decisions too. I hope you’ll give it a try.
