Life is full of many options. Sometimes the choices can be great. Sometimes the amount of choices can be staggering and cause us to panic and freeze up. Consider for a second some of the options you are presented with in life.

• Paper or plastic bags or carry your stuff out with no bags because the local government is now charging $0.05 per bag?
• Do you want to add guacamole with that? There is an up-charge.
• Do you want toppings on your ice cream?
• Should I worship in person or catch it on YouTube later?
• Which extra-curricular activity do I sign my child up for?
• Take-out Chinese or pizza?
• Whose family should we visit over the holidays?
• Which old guy should I vote for?
• Go to the gym or go to the bakery?

I have been noticing in my oldest daughter lately that she is struggling with making decisions when given certain choices. Recently, we let her pick out where to go to dinner to celebrate the end of her volleyball season. She could not choose. She began crowdsourcing ideas from her mother and I and even texting her grandparents to get their suggestions. Later on, when we asked her why she had a hard time choosing, she said that she was afraid of making the wrong decision. She did not want to disappoint anyone with a bad choice.

And I understand the predicament oh so well. This past Sunday, I had to announce to my congregation, Christ Community Church & School, that I had received a call (see below for more info about this process) to serve another congregation. This is not the first time this has happened to me in the last 10 years. But it does not get easier with time. Either way, there is going to be a group of people who are disappointed and another who are happy with my decision. So how do I know I am making the right decision?

God, You invented neon signs. Please use them. Amen.

Rather than turning to people and their emotions for approval, lets consider how we can turn to God and follow in His ways. A pastor that I look up to would say this prayer (or something close to it) sometimes. And it gets to the heart of the matter. It can be difficult to know where God is leading. So how do we make God-pleasing decisions?

• Do all of my options help me to fulfill God’s command to love Him and our neighbors? If one of the options doesn’t, then eliminate it.
• Are you praying about these decisions? In the words of Joseph Scriven, “Take it to the Lord in prayer.”
• Are you spending time in God’s Word? Remember, God’s Word is a light to our feet and paths. Do not walk in darkness.
• Who are you talking to about your choices? The parable of the rich fool shows us the danger of being separated from community, especially when presented with big life choices.

For me, when I am faced with a big decision, and after I have gone through the questions above, there is one more thing I look for: peace. Personally, I suffer from a bit of anxiety. My brain can rush through a thousand different scenarios of why one choice is good and the other is not and then vice versa. But when I have come to a decision and my brain goes quiet, I take that as a sign of peace, which lets me know I have made the right choice.

You might have a different way of landing on a decision and knowing that you have made the right one. The important part is making a decision. When we choose to do nothing, then we are allowing fear to win over. Trust in God and trust that He is leading you.

May we all continue to follow God as we seek to serve Him.

P.S. Would you mind praying for my family and I? We are still (as of February 25, 2025) in the midst of deciding between the two calls I now have.

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The call process in my church body is a little different than what most people are used to. Congregations, when they have a pastoral opening, discern who they want to be their pastor. Somebody at the top of our church body does not assign them a new pastor, like our Roman Catholic counterparts experience. Pastors do not respond to “Job Opening” posts with applications and resumes. Instead, the local congregation works with their district staff (think national church body broken into geographical regions) who compiles a list of pastors that might fit what the congregation is looking for. The congregation works through the list however they choose and then, through a congregational voters’ meeting, extend a call to a pastor. That pastor then has a few weeks to discern where God is leading because he now has two calls, one to his current congregation and one to this new congregation. Sounds fun?!?

Photo by Tracy Higashi on Unsplash