Be Decisive

“The most decisive actions of our life—I mean those that are most likely to decide the whole course of our future—are, more often than not, unconsidered.”

—ANDRE GIDE

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

—Romans 12:1

Indecision is a miserable place to be and certainly not a fruit of the simple life. Simplicity prays, seeks wisdom, and decides. There is no waffling. It sticks with the decision it made unless there is a very good reason to change it. The apostle James said the double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways and will not receive anything he asks from the Lord. How can God give us anything if we can never make up our minds concerning what we want?

Insecure people have difficulty making decisions because they are always afraid they will make the wrong one. They have a low opinion of themselves and don’t trust themselves to do the right thing. Perfectionists also have difficulty because they never want to take a chance on being wrong. Anyone who is decisive occasionally makes a bad decision, but they make more right ones than wrong ones. I always say you cannot drive a parked car. Some people have had their life in park for so long, they have lost all sense of direction and feel confused about everything. God has only one gear—forward. It is not backward and it is certainly not park! Sometimes we need to do something just to keep from continuing to do nothing.

Do the best you can to make a wise decision and trust God to cover you if you make mistakes. He sees your heart and never expects more than the best you know how to do. As you make decisions and go forward in life, you will gain experience. Sometimes you learn what you have done is right and other times you learn not to ever do that particular thing again because it turned out badly. It’s okay if things don’t end with a perfect result. No child ever learns how to walk without falling down multiple times. They would never learn if they just sat and cried about the fall; they must get up and try again and again. Pretty soon, the walking that gave them such a hard time progresses to running.

Make a decision today to be more decisive. You will discover how much of life’s clutter you’ll cut out and will soon be running with progress instead of indecisively going nowhere.