All of us will find ourselves having to make decisions from time-to-time. We pray you will find it to be helpful to assist you in making decisions from a God-honoring stand-point!

Ask yourself the following:

• Have I asked for God’s help?

• Do I show my trust for God with every area of my life, not merely this decision?

• Am I operating on the basis of good reasons rather than changing feelings?

• Am I filling my mind with God’s Word so that my mind is being transformed?

• Are there biblical commands or principles that apply to my specific situation?

• What are the alternatives and consequences of each possible option? How do these fare when evaluated by what the Bible says?

• Do my abilities and weaknesses have a bearing on the decision? How?

• Will the outcome of this decision glorify God, build me up spiritually, and edify others?

• Have I sought out worthy advisers CHECKLIST?

• Have I carefully evaluated the advice, not merely accepted or rejected it?

• Is this decision a matter of my own freedom [and is this what God ultimately wants]?

• Do I have peace that my decision is right?

• Would waiting be profitable or detrimental?

• Am I determined to obey and please God?

And lastly, a few comments that we at Marriage Missions would like to add:

Make sure that whatever decision you make does not contradict scripture. Sometimes we will rationalize a type of “peace of mind ” that God loves us too much to want us in a certain situation. We rationalize in our human minds that “a loving God would not want me to be unhappy, therefore He would have me do things a different way.”

As a result of that, we feel a sense of peace of mind that the conclusion we’ve come to is the right one even though it contradicts God’s word. God doesn’t talk in the Bible about His ultimate good for us being happiness — but perfecting us into the character of Jesus.

God doesn’t tell everyone else through the Bible to do things one way but bends them for you. That is projecting upon God what we want to think rather than what He really says to be true.

So make sure that the decision you have made doesn’t contradict what the Bible says — otherwise you’ve been deceived and need to pray more about it. The decisions you make need to be wise in the Lord. You want to lean upon the Lord’s understanding— not your own. The Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-6:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.”

The above check list was written by Dr Steve Dowdle who is a Counseling Pastor with Casas Adobes Baptist Church located in Tucson, Arizona in the USA.