Being S.M.A.R.T. — A Biblical Approach to Decision Making
There once was a man who wanted to go ice fishing. After doing a quick search on his phone for the nearest location for some good ice, he ended up at an ideal spot – not too cold with a solid, smooth surface. So he set up and began to cut a hole in the frozen sheet, but he was immediately halted by a voice from above saying: There are no fish there. After the initial shock, he thought it best to pick up his things and move spots. As he began to cut another hole, he heard the same voice again: There are no fish there. Figuring it was the voice of God guiding him to the best fish, he moved once more and began to cut, only to hear the voice speak a third time: This is the ice rink manager. There are no fish there.
Maybe you wish you could hear – or sometimes think you do hear – the audible voice of God guiding you and telling you what to do. But that’s not really the way it works – for anyone. Even the vast majority of people who lived during Bible times didn’t hear directly from God. The rare people who – instruments of divine revelation announcing and advancing God’s redemptive purposes – only occasionally heard directly from him.
In the absence of an audible voice, we can be tempted to adopt some rather ridiculous, even superstitious, practices in an attempt to discern the Lord’s leading. This might include flipping coins, casting lots (whatever that means), asking for signs (like Gideon setting out a fleece), or opening your Bible randomly, pointing to a verse, and taking it as direct guidance.
These approaches are, to put it bluntly, foolish and spiritually lazy. They circumvent the more demanding process involved in wise biblical decision making. Besides, God never promised he’d lead us through these methods.
God’s will is pretty straight forward: believe in Jesus, pursue holiness in everything, do right by your neighbor … In light of this clarity, it’s often not so much discernment about God’s will that we need but obedient hearts.
So is there a more biblical approach? Yes. Thankfully, we have numerous examples in the New Testament of Paul’s decision-making process related to his ministry and travel plans [1]. Not once does he use any of the aforementioned methods. It’s true that he speaks of times when his plans were prevented by the Spirit or hindered by Satan [2], and there are occasions where it appears Paul is directly instructed and steered by Jesus and the Spirit [3]. But remember that Paul is both a recipient and himself an instrument of direct divine revelation – you’re not. And even these instances do not appear to be the typical way Paul thought about or made decisions.
Paul counsels his readers in Ephesians 5:17: “Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” When we think about discerning God’s will for our lives, it’s important to keep in mind that, in one sense, God’s will is rather clear because he’s made it clear. Consider Jesus’ response to the question: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” [4]. His answer was: “This is the work of God” – this is what God wants you to do – “that you believe in him whom he has sent.” Consider also the clarity expressed by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality … that no one transgress and wrong his brother.” God’s will is pretty straight forward: believe in Jesus, pursue holiness in everything, do right by your neighbor. We could also summarize God’s will the way Jesus summarized the commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself” [5]. In light of this clarity, it’s often not so much discernment about God’s will that we need but obedient hearts.
There are admittedly, however, times when you’re faced with important decisions unique to your life specifically – decisions about colleges and majors and marriage and careers and moves. How do you make faithful decisions when there’s not chapter or verse written directly to you that answers the question of whether you should major in business or in art? Whether you should take the job in Ohio or one that keeps you close to family? Or whether you should get married – and to this person or not?
What does a wise, biblical approach to decision making look like in these kinds of situations? Let me suggest five things using the acronym S.M.A.R.T.
STUDY THE WORD
A critical and indispensable step in seeking direction from God is to study his Word. By this I don’t simply mean reactively searching the Bible for passages that seem relevant to the specific decision you’re facing. I mean proactively being a student of the Word so you’re increasingly the kind of person who knows God, loves God, and has learned to discern his voice speaking in Scripture and also learned to apply it in daily living.
God’s Word does, of course, give some clear commands and prohibitions related to some very personal decisions. For example, if you’re thinking about becoming engaged to or marrying an unbeliever, God has already spoken his mind to you on that. In 1 Corinthians 7:39 Paul says that a widow is free to marry again “but only in the Lord.” He also instructs us in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers …. what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?” Likewise, if taking a certain course of action would require you to violate the Sabbath regularly, to dishonor your parents in some way, or to mislead by only telling half-truths, recall the fourth, fifth, and ninth commandments.
But along with direct commands and prohibitions, the Bible also supplies us with principles. According to Hebrews 4:12 the Word of God searches “the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Position your mind and your heart under the searching power of the Scriptures, and if your choice is being driven by greed for wealth, or if it’s being fueled by idolatry, or envy, or spite, or revenge, or fear of failure, or pleasing people over pleasing God, let the Word expose those motives and bring you to confession and repentance.
Part of the difficulty in many of our decisions, though, is that our motives are mixed – some are sinful and some are godly. So there’s another thing to do in the decision making process.
MAKE IT A MATTER OF FREQUENT PRAYER
You should listen to God talking to you in Scripture and frequently talk to him about the decision in prayer [6]. Pray things like Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Ask God to sift your motives. Ask him to strengthen the desires that are from him and to weaken the ones that aren’t. Ask for an open and willing heart to embrace his plan and purposes over your own. Ask him for wisdom. Ask the Spirit to bring relevant Bible passages to mind to guide you. Ask him to lead you in his providence by opening and closing doors like he did for Paul [7]. Ask him to bring increasing clarity as you wait on him. And as you wait, do a third thing.
ASSESS YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES
You can’t do everything, so it’s good practice to say no to any new responsibilities that will prevent you from fulfilling obligations you already have for which people are depending on you.
Remember that everything about your circumstances at any given point in time has been arranged by a good and sovereign God: the opportunities you have and the ones you don’t have; your financial resources as well as your financial limitations; the people you know and the relationships you have; the dynamics and needs of your family; and the obligations and existing commitments you have. You need to be mindful of these things and factor them appropriately into your decisions.
For example, you might sense that God is calling you to the foreign mission field but you have family members here who need your care and attention. Maybe you have significant debt that limits your options financially. Maybe you want a spouse but you’re working through a major issue that prevents you from being in a healthy relationship right now. Maybe you don’t have the required educational credentials to open up certain doors. You have to humbly accept God’s providential arrangement of the moment and honestly face the factors that should rightly impact your choices.
Something else to weigh when you assess your circumstances is this: you can’t do everything, so it’s good practice to say no to any new responsibilities that will prevent you from fulfilling obligations you already have for which people are depending on you.
There are often a lot of variables to consider as you assess your circumstances so it helps to talk to other people.
REACH OUT FOR COUNSEL
The Bible tells us that there is safety in an abundance of counselors [8]. When you’re facing a difficult or important decision, it’s beneficial to seek additional perspectives and to work through good questions others might pose. We’re prone to self-deception [9], so it is wise to subject our thoughts, desires, and plans to the scrutiny of others.
When thinking about people to talk with, look especially for those who know and love you (this will hopefully include parents and other family members), and those who know and love God and his Word (this will hopefully include pastors and other wise members in the church). Additionally, it can be helpful to seek out those who might possess particular insights related to your decision. For example, if you’re considering a job, talk to someone in that field. If you’re thinking about getting married, seek counsel from a seasoned married couple. If you’re contemplating buying a home, reach out to current homeowners and a wise financial advisor.
When thinking about people to talk with, look especially for those who know and love you and those who know and love God.
So what if you’ve done all these things and it’s still not clear what you should do? There’s one last thing involved in making biblically S.M.A.R.T. decisions.
TAKE YOUR PERSONAL DESIRES INTO CONSIDERATION
What do you want to do? It’s not unbiblical to weigh your own desires when making decisions. In fact, it’s unbiblical to think that God is never the one giving you certain desires in order to lead and guide you. That doesn’t mean your personal desires are the only factor you weigh in your decisions – or even the first factor. It just means it’s one legitimate factor to consider alongside the others already mentioned.
But factoring in personal desires can still be hard. Sometimes people have a difficult time making a decision not so much because they’re confused about what God might want, but because they’re confused about what they really want.
CONCLUSION
Practicing these S.M.A.R.T. principles won’t necessarily make your decisions easy. You may go through all five steps and still not be sure what the right decision is. So what do you do when you’re not sure what to do? Trust God and walk by faith, not by sight.
So what do you do when you’re not sure what to do? Trust God and walk by faith, not by sight.
If we’re honest, it’s this trust element that can be challenging for us in making decisions. Jerry Bridges rightly discerns: “… it often seems more difficult to trust God than to obey Him … Obeying God is worked out within well-defined boundaries of God’s revealed will. Trusting God is worked out in an arena that has no boundaries” [10].
But we don’t need to be paralyzed by the fear of making a “wrong decision” [11]. If you’re a Christian you’ve already made the most important decision you can make: to believe the gospel and trust Jesus as your Savior. You can live in the freedom to walk boldly by faith when you’re loving Jesus and when your desire is to please him. We see this freedom in two different choices Paul made. He says in 1 Corinthians 16:9: “I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened.” But he says in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13: “When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.” Both of those decisions – staying because of an open door and leaving despite an open door – reflect Paul’s trust in God’s leading.
You can trust his leading, too. He is your faithful shepherd who will guide you in his providence [12]. The Lord is your keeper who watches over you [13]. He is able to redeem your missteps and work them for good [14] until he brings you into your eternal dwelling in his presence. So be obedient in your decisions. Boldly trust him in your decisions. And be S.M.A.R.T.
[1] See Acts 16:6-10; 19:21; 20:3,16; Romans 15:20-29; 1 Corinthians 16:5-9; and 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18 for some examples.
[2] See Acts 16:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 2:18.
[3] See Acts 16:9-10.
[4] See John 6:29.
[5] See Matthew 22:37-40.
[6] Consider fasting along with praying if you’re physically and emotionally healthy enough for that.
[7] An open or closed door is a factor, but it’s not by itself a decisive factor. Going through an open door, after all, may be an occasion of sinning. This is why we must not isolate assessing our circumstances from the other parts of S.M.A.R.T. decision making like studying God’s Word and prayer. When Jonah rose up to flee in disobedience from the presence of the Lord, he found “an open door” in the form of a ship going to Tarshish (see Jonah 1:3). That “providential opening” didn’t validate his decision: it was in direct defiance of God’s command to go to Nineveh. Russell Moore puts in plainly: “…sometimes people will assume the ‘open doors’ in their lives are all signals to go forward. How could it not be right when everything just seems to be fitting together perfectly? But what if something wicked is just ahead of you, opening those doors for you, right down to the chambers of hell?” See Russell Moore, Tempted and Tried (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 48-49. On the other hand, a closed door may be an instance of God calling you to overcome some obstacles and difficulties in order to follow him faithfully.
[8] See Proverbs 11:14; 15:22; 20:18; 24:6.
[9] Jeremiah 17:9 sounds an important warning: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”
[10] Jerry Bridges, Trusting God (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1988), 17.
[11] Sometimes we erroneously conclude that decisions were “wrong” if they lead to hardship and conversely, decisions were “right” if they lead to ease. But the opposite can often be the case. God’s plan for us in this life is not for us to experience uninterrupted comfort; it’s for our sanctification and growth in holiness, which often makes use of hardship and suffering (see Hebrews 12:7-11).
[12] See Psalm 23:1-6.
[13] See Psalm 121:5.
[14] See Romans 8:28.