What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do

What do you do when you don't know what to do? In an ideal situation you would have time to pray and to hear from God but what happens when you have to make a decision quickly? What happens when you just simply don't know what to do right now? Recently I was in this situation. I was made a job offer and accepted. It was and is a good offer and I was happy and excited at the prospect of starting this job and began to plan for it. Within two days I received an email from the same company to offer me another job for a manager's position. Straight away I was in conflict. Too many reasons to go into here but there were pros and cons about both positions and I was in a dilemma. From experience I know that asking too many people for their opinion can complicate things further. I spoke to a couple of family members for accountability but it didn’t give me the answer. It gave me their opinion. I started to get anxious and thought 'I wish I was already prayed up’, 'I wish I had been spending adequate time with God, then I would definitely know what to do'. That may have been true but a) it wasn't helping me to think this way and b) it's not always the case. I did a number of things. One is that I tried to process everything in the natural. The second job was more money but also more responsibility and further to travel and in the end I wouldn't necessarily be better off. However, it would be an opportunity to gain experience, although this was not an area that I was particularly interested in but what if God wanted it for me and what if I didn't take it and my family thought I was being irresponsible? These thoughts were going around and around in my mind and I wasn't getting anywhere. So, I decided to put on my trainers, leave my phone and go out for a walk. I decided that I would walk and pray until I got the answer. I needed to hear from God. So that's what I did and do you know, it wasn’t 25 minutes before I knew what I should do. Let me just back up a bit here to say that when I first got the second job offer my reaction went from excitement to dread and disappointment. I felt as though I had to accept the offer and be grateful and never mind at whether it was something I wanted to do. If the prospects were good then I should just take it. But I did not feel comfortable with it at all. I forced myself to make it work in my mind and was on the verge of accepting. However, while out on my walk my first initial thoughts of disappointment versus excitement, kept coming back to me. In addition, I kept thinking that the first job is in line with where I think I'm supposed to be going. The other position just provided security but also bondage! I'd be tied to a job I hated and one that wouldn't help me to progress. Long story short. After my walk I came right back to the beginning. I remembered what was my initial reaction to the first offer and then to the second. My gut (spirit, heart) was clearly telling me the way to go. But I still needed to 'test the spirits' because it could have been my flesh. So I'm glad I did but deep down inside, I knew from the start. Sometimes it's not about the money. When God wants you somewhere He will take care of the money. Sometimes it's about following your heart. Your heart truly knows what way to go. If you have a decision to make, don't try to make sense of it on paper first. Don't look at the numbers and the logistics. Don't look in the natural and enter the arena of reason. God's ways are not our ways. We can be promoted to a 'lesser' job and have a greater impact. Or maybe the time is not right for the other job but there will be a right time further down the line. One thing I do know is that I would have been miserable in this second position. But I didn't want to be irresponsible and make a decision on a whim. I prayed. I listened. I even went to visit the place to get a feel of it and when I did that, that was confirmation for me because I knew then that it wasn't for me. So when you don't know what to do do this: 1> Stop stressing and working things out. Just stop. Get quiet before God. Go out for a walk or just change your surroundings so that you are not distracted. Give yourself enough time to empty your head of your thoughts. 2> Start worshipping God. Tell Him that you know that He has your best interests at heart and that He wouldn't let you miss what's yours. Declare your trust in Him. Tell Him your concerns. Pray in tongues if you need to and interpret. 3> Once you've cleared your mind begin to listen to your spirit. Everything you will ever need is in your spirit because that is where the Holy Spirit lives. But our lives are too noisy to hear sometimes. Switch off the telly and phone and just listen but not for a voice or a feeling but a 'knowing'. You do deeply know on the inside. Think about a time where you were sure about something but you didn't act on it because you didn't trust yourself but in the end you were right. Think about all the times you were right about something. How did that feel? Apply it to your situation now. 4> Sleep on it. I can't stress this enough. Sleep is a huge factor. Not because of the sleep itself but because of the time that passes. By the morning you 1) feel refreshed as your brain has had a chance to assimilate everything while you slept 2) you are calmer and clearer 3) you somehow just know what to do. 5> Act. To act is to make a decision and take action on it. Being indecisive is like being double minded. You have to make a decision at some point. God would rather you made a decision, even if it was wrong, than to stay in a place of indecision. So act on your gut and see how it feels. If it feels wrong then stop. God will usually make it clear when it's wrong. You'll get a big check in your spirit. But if the first step feels ok then that might be an indicator that you are moving in the right direction. 6> Talk to someone you trust. I would only recommend this if you are not easily led by other people's opinions and if you have someone you can trust for accountability and good counsel. If you are just asking every one for their opinion and depending on that then you will get confused. However, in the multitude of counsellors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14), so choose wisely and share with someone you can trust spiritually. It's never easy making a decision but making a decision is better that not making one at all. Once the right one is made you get the peace and you know you've made the right decision. Let peace be your umpire in everything you do. Blessings, Oceans