How Do I Know It's The Right Decision?

In life, we are faced with many major decisions such as,
Should I ….. Buy this house? Sell this house? Sell my business? Start this business? Marry this person? Leave this person? Move to another state?

Accept the job offer? Leave my current job?

It is important that we get these answers right! We don't want to make a bad decision that could have a drastic impact on our lives for years to come, so I am writing this post to help answer the question,

"How do you know it’s the right decision?"  

Let's Ask Gideon

Gideon was a man in the Bible who felt God was calling him to lead his people out of oppression from the Midianites.  This was a huge task, not only because the Midianites were an enormously large army of men, but also because Gideon was battling his own insecurities as a leader.  Gideon wanted to make certain he was being led by God so he put God to a test, not only once, but three times.  Each successful test gave Gideon assurance that he had indeed heard from God and Gideon went on to lead his people to win a triumphant battle over the Midianites. (Judges 6, 7 & 8)

God wants us to test our desires as well.  

Any desire we feel is from God will certainly pass these four tests:

#1  The Bible Test

The first test is the Bible test.  

The Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. 

When God gives us a desire, it will always align with His Word.
God can never lead us in a way that contradicts His Word.   That's simply not possible.  If God says it, then it has to be truth, because it is impossible for God to lie. (Hebrews 6:18, Numbers 23:19) 

This is first, because if it doesn't pass this test then there is no need to continue.  

If your desire contradicts the Bible, then stop here and know that it is not from God.

#2  The Test of Time

The second test is the test of time.  Many times we can test our desires by simply letting some time pass before we pursue this desire. 

God doesn't give us a desire one day that then it goes away the next.  If we don't pursue our God-given desires, then we feel a void in our lives and over time the desire gets stronger and stronger. 

The time test is a good check to see if this thing maybe worth pursuing.  In many cases, the test of time will reveal foolish thoughts and save us from unnecessary trouble.

But if the desire gets stronger over time then we should move on to the third test.  

# 3  The Door Test

Revelation 3:7 says, "What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open."

If God gives us a desire, then He also has to open the door for it to happen.

If He doesn't open the door then it's not His desire. This takes the pressure off of us to make things happen and places the responsibility of opening the door solely on God. Every desire from God has to pass the door test.

#4  The Accountability Test

The final test is the accountability test. I suggest having at least one wise man/woman of God with whom you regularly and openly share details of your life for the purpose of guidance and accountability. Be open to their direction. When you ask for advice, be sure not to say, "This is what God told me to do. What do you think?" When people approach me this way, I respond, "If God told you then it must be right."  This way of asking doesn't give me much room to speak into this person's life.  

He has really made his mind up and just want me to affirm what he has already decided in his heart to do.  Instead say, "This is what I'm thinking God wants me to do. What do you think?" Listen to their advice and follow it.  

Having advice from people you trust does no good if you don't make a choice to follow it.

When we put our desires through each of these four tests, it gives us peace and confidence in our decisions. 

That peace is how we know we are headed in the right direction.