Movers, Shakers, and Decision Makers

When it comes to making decisions, there are a few different types of people:

1. The Decision Makers - as made obvious by the name, these are the people who have no problem making decisions. Aside from the normal amount of discomfort that accompanies decision making, they experience very little additional anxiety.

2. The Opportunity Costers* - opportunity cost is an economic term that refers to the principle that you must give something up in order to gain something else. These are the people who get anxiety from decisions because of the fear that they'll miss out on whatever they don't choose. They're scared that if they pick the wrong thing, the entire trajectory of their life will be thrown off.

*Is this a word? No. But I just made it one. Boom.

3. The Survey Takers - this group is prone to being overly concerned with the opinions of others. When it comes to making decisions (especially big ones), they don't move forward without first getting the opinions of others.

I fall somewhere in between the Opportunity Costers and the Survey Takers. When I have to make a decision, I panic (like really panic). I worry that if I make the wrong decision, I'll miss out on what God has in store for me. On top of that, I worry about disappointing the people around me if I do the wrong thing. People say "you made your bed, now lie in it," and it absolutely terrifies me.

What if I make the bed the wrong way?

This fear often prevents me from making decisions altogether, which is neither healthy nor productive. My inability to make decisions has really been taking a toll on me lately, but the other day God placed something on my heart and everything suddenly made sense.

What did He place on my heart, you ask?

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.

When I was little, I read a book series about a woman named Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, who had the cure for every "ailment" a child could have. From not bathing to eating too slowly, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle knew exactly what to do. One of my favorite books of the series was the one where she helps a girl learn how to make her bed. The girl had no idea how to do it the right way, which left her parents displeased. To fix the problem, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle dressed like a witch and teased the girl  (in a nice way, don't worry) until she learned to make her bed with absolutely no wrinkles.

At first I was confused as to why this popped into my head  (other than to bring about fond childhood memories), when suddenly, it clicked. 

No matter what you do, how badly you mess up, no matter how many times, there's absolutely nothing you can do that will ruin God's plan for your life if you're following Him.

Don't get me wrong - you can certainly get off track. However, if you're genuinely trying to follow God's plan for your life and you're just worried about how to get where He needs you to be  (like me!), I've got some good news for you: God already knows all of the decisions you're going to make, good and bad. You can't do anything to surprise God - which is such a relief.

If God already knows all the decisions you're going to make, don't you think that He's already worked out a plan to get you to where you need to be?

Shortly after Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, another thing popped into my head - one of my favorite verses, Proverbs 3:6:

"In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Click!

Okay, I hear you Jesus.

The cool thing about God is that He is overflowing with love. He doesn't sit up in heaven and move us around like puppets on strings, nor does He just sit back and let us ruin our lives without interjecting. Instead, He is like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle - if He sees you attempting to make the bed, He is going to honor you for trying -

and if you mess it up, He'll help you remake the bed.

What I've realized is that God honors motion. If your heart is in the right place when you're making a decision, it truly doesn't matter what you choose - God already has it all worked out. He will direct you in the way you need to go. There is absolutely nothing you can do that will ruin His grand plan.

So, breathe.

You don't have to worry about making the "wrong" decision as long as you're putting in the effort to move yourself forward. You can't just stay in neutral and not make any decisions because they're "hard" - it's difficult for God to purpose an object that's not in motion. Think of the Israelites in Exodus for example - God brought them to the promise land, but they were too scared to step into it. They took one look at all of the giants in the land and decided not to trust that God had already worked everything out in their favor.

Don't be like the Israelites.

Stop worrying about all of the "what if's" and hold onto the fact that Jesus has already worked out every single little detail of every situation you'll be in.

This doesn't go to say that if you find yourself faced with a big decision you should just choose a random one and go with it. What I'm saying is that if you're genuinely trying to follow the path that God wants for you, and you've prayed about it but haven't got an answer, then maybe you need to consider the idea that His silence is your answer.

Maybe He's turning you into a decision maker.

Stop procrastinating because you're scared of choosing the wrong thing.

God already has this all worked out.

So, take a deep breath and take a leap of faith.

Even if He's silent, He'll be with you every step of the way -

and He's waiting to catch you on the other side.

Oh, and one more thing -

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).

_________________________

Songs to empower you on your decision-making journey:

Oceans (I know - a classic!) - Hillsong United

Fearless - Jasmine Murray

Never Gone - Colton Dixon

You Make Me Brave (Live) - Amanda Cook, Bethel Music

Hurricane - Natalie Grant

_________________________

Like what you see? Subscribe at the bottom of the homepage to get alerts when a new post is available!

xo

@thelightclctive

There's No "I" in Team, but There is in Anxiety

This week, I want to talk about something that hits close to home. Something that I have fallen victim to almost my entire life. Something that I know a lot of you struggle with daily  -

it's our good ol' friend anxiety. 

You know what I'm talking about - the pit in your stomach, waking up in the middle of the night sweating with you heart pounding out of your chest. I don't know a single person in my life who doesn't struggle with it. It seems to be a world wide epidemic, contaminating the minds of over 40 million Americans. So many people struggle with it, which begs the question:

why are we all so dang anxious?

I've always looked at anxiety as if it was a part of me; something that had to with a misfiring in my brain and therefore out of my control. I've spent countless nights laying awake in bed absolutely begging God to take away my anxious thoughts, but to no avail. I told myself that this was a burden that I was going to have to learn to live with.

What I didn't realize was that I was unintentionally imprisoning myself in my own mind.

When the devil wants to attack you, he's going to first set up camp in your mind. He's going to whisper nasty thoughts in your ear all night, making you worry and drift from bad thought to bad thought. His goal is to fill your head with so much junk that you couldn't possibly hear God's whisper.

And over 40 million of us fall for it. Every. Single. Day. 

What I never thought to consider however, is that I could actually be the root cause of my anxiety. I was choosing to fall victim to my anxiety because it was "out of my control," when in reality my lifestyle was what was causing me to have sleepless nights.

You see, we live in a world that tells us that the decisions we make are important. Our society tells us that we are in control of our destiny, and therefore we have to be very careful and take our time when making decisions. We are told daily "the choices that you make are going to impact you for the rest of your life, so choose wisely!"

If you're like me, that's where a lot of your anxiety comes from.

Fear of making the "wrong" decision has turned me into a major people pleaser. I am ashamed to say that I base almost all of my decisions on what will look good to others. I avoid any type of conflict because I live in a constant fear that I'll say or do the wrong thing and upset the people around me. For you, maybe it's the same thing. Maybe it's deciding where you're going to go for college. Maybe it's whether or not you should break up with your boyfriend. Maybe it's what you should have for dinner.

Maybe you spend so much time weighing the pros and cons of a situation that you end up just pushing it off, and you mask that procrastination by saying "I'm praying about it, but I haven't gotten a clear answer." 

By doing this, we give ourselves opportunities for anxiety and we call them "options."

But I'm going to let you in on a little secret - 

it doesn't matter.

You're staying awake all night and making yourself sick over something that God has already worked out. By allowing those anxious thoughts to ruminate in your brain, you're implying that you are in control of your life, when in reality God is the one who oversees it all. He knows you inside and out. He knows every decision you're going to make, and whether it's the right one or the wrong one He has already designed a plan for your life and you cannot possibly get in His way. If your heart is in the right place, then it doesn't matter what decision you make. People say "you made your bed, now lie in it" and I hate it. 

If you made the bed the wrong way, apologize and remake the dang bed. 

You're allowed to mess up. You're allowed to pick the wrong decision because God already has it all worked out. 

Stop worrying so much!

Your brain is a sacred place created by God - it's where He resides, where he communicates with you, and where He reveals to you your destiny. The next time you feel those anxious thoughts creeping in, yell at the devil to get his hands off of God's property.

Here's the bottom line: you're going to have hard decisions to make, and the enemy is going to use those to make your mind an anxiety ridden warzone. All you have to do is remind him how big your God is, and remember that He has your entire destiny completely mapped out.

I invite you this week to take control of your anxiety. 

Shift your intention from "how are people thinking of me?" to "how am I thinking of others?" Stop worrying about what "might" happen and remember that God has it all worked out. Start saying no to people when you want to say no to them, no matter how upset they may get with you. 

God is too good for you to stay anxious. 

Jesus is looking at you with nothing but love. No matter what choices you make, he is sitting on His throne and saying:

"This is my child, and with them I am well pleased."