God Loves to Use Hard Decisions. Let Him.
Life is full of tough decisions — and God loves to use them. He doesn’t just help us get through them. If we allow it, the decision-making process can be a catalyst that God uses to spark growth and create incredible outcomes, both now and in the future.
Sounds good, right? Until you’re in the middle of a tough call! It can be so hard to keep hold of this perspective when you don’t know which way to go.
I preached a sermon on this subject at Crossroads in late July. Here are a few of the biggest takeaways from that teaching and some insights on how you can let God use hard decisions to shape your life.
Dissecting Decision-Making
Have you ever thought about what naturally influences a decision?
Emotions are a big factor. How often are we tempted to make decisions based on fear or keeping control or the desire to find the path of least resistance? Are emotions even a trustworthy guide?
Other people are also a factor. Have you ever been given a random piece of advice about a problem? Or have people around you tried to influence your direction? Who do you listen to? Who do you tune out?
Your vision of the future is another big one. I remember, when I left my corporate job for ministry, my old boss brought me into her office and showed me that I was on the cusp of a huge compensation restructuring that included bonuses and pay raises. That shifted my perspective on my future and made a hard decision that much harder.
Making decisions is tough. It’s a guarantee. In fact, you can expect hard decisions to come along that will make you question everything. It’s a right of passage as a human being. It’s also something that comes with the Christian life. Moving toward God ensures that tough calls are coming down the pike.
Hezekiah’s Tough Decision
You can find one of the best examples of a tough decision in 2 Kings 18 (along with correlating accounts in 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 36). In this story, the powerful king of Assyria dies and the weaker vassal king of Judah, Hezekiah, revolts against the new king, Sennacherib.
When Sennacherib sends his armies to invade Judah, they look impossible to overcome. But King Hezekiah is a king who had always “done what is right in the sight of the Lord.” Over the course of the story, Hezekiah refuses to accept the fear tactics, bullying, and manipulation of his enemies and the desperation of his situation as valid factors in the decision-making process (all the things that usually cause us to made bad calls!)
Instead, he turns to the one and only source of truth for an answer: God.
And God comes through for Hezekiah in incredible ways. Ways that we’re still talking about today.
What God does for Hezekiah – both practically and spiritually – to help him in this tough decision, he wants to do for you. God’s help is not vague and intangible. There are real elements in 2 Kings 18 that will almost certainly repeat themselves in the midst of your own hard decisions. These are ways that God can help you see the right call. Here are the three that stand out.
1. See Patterns of the Past
Hezekiah’s confidence in God’s ability to answer his questions was already well-established before Sennacherib’s soldiers arrived on the scene. The King of Judah saw the past patterns of God’s faithfulness. In fact, the confrontation with Sennacherib wasn’t even his first big showdown. Earlier in the chapter, he had also gotten rid of the idols that plagued his people.
2 Kings 18:4-6 says:
“He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.) Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.”
Why do you trust God? Do you trust Him in the first place? If you spend your life disconnected from God, it won’t be surprising if you want to curse and blame God when trouble comes! But where He has been faithful in the past can give you the courage to trust him now.
Start with the patterns of the past. If you see a lack of trust, you can always reconnect. We have a standing invitation to a relationship like the one Hezekiah had with his God — the same God whose Spirit can dwell inside of you through Jesus.
2. See the Mind Games in the Present
Unwanted emotions always seem to sneak up on you while you’re making a decision – especially fear, doubt, and shame. They are such common feelings that you can pretty much count on them showing up. But you don’t have to listen to them.
Sennacherib’s representatives play off of these feelings in 2 Kings 18. They’ll appear in different – but just as potent – forms in your own struggles.
Expecting these emotions will help you stay on course in the struggle.
I’m reminded of a line I once heard around the time I got married. “Decide now what to do the day you wake up and wonder why you married this person.” This advice was encouraging young couples not to wait until you’re in the midst of the emotions of a struggle to decide how you feel about the important issues of trust and commitment.
The same is true with God. You can decide to trust him now before you feel all the emotions of a hard decision. My husband and I committed to core issues like forgiveness, and when serious struggles came, it’s a big reason our marriage is still alive and well today.
Don’t allow your enemy to reinterpret the truth spoken by your God. Study His words, pray and ponder them in your heart. I also suggest speaking or writing down your internal thoughts when making a tough call so you can really see the words and check them against God’s words when big decisions come. This slows things down and gives you a chance to remember the truths that predate your present decision.
3. Seek God for the Future
Present decisions directly affect your future – and this is why they’re scary sometimes! The stakes can be high. I can guarantee two things about that future, too: you’ll be there, and God will be there. That means, as you weigh the big stuff, you want to go directly to God for his vision and plans for your future. He’s already there!
I can’t overstate the “go to God” part here. It’s cliché, but only because it’s true. In 2 Kings 19:1, Hezekiah receives bad news and runs directly to God. The verse reads:
“When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord.”
Hezekiah reached out to God through the Temple and the prophet Isaiah. For you, this probably looks more like praying with your friend, the Holy Spirit, and reading your Bible. The key is to run to God when trouble arises — not yourself, not your self-help books, not even your fellow Believers. Always start with God.
Where Is Your Confidence?
Making good decisions requires confidence — not in yourself but in God. When tough choices must be made, remember the words of Hezekiah’s enemies:
“On what are you basing this confidence of yours?”
The key question behind every decision is Who. Do. You. Trust? If your answer is God, then there is an implicit belief that he will use every situation, no matter how bad, for good. Let Him! And be confident that he will. You can put all your confidence in Him.
If you want to hear the sermon in full, you can find it here. Click on the Contents tab to get a list of questions to help you process, journal, and discuss this incredibly important topic in your faith journey.
You can also learn more about me and read more articles like this at theallipatterson.com.
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