In the past few weeks I’ve heard a number of people… students, adults, business people, and youth ministry types use a phrase that I don’t believe in.

"I’m waiting for the Lord to make it clear."

This is a classic Christian stall statement. It makes me sick because it blames our inability to be decisive on God. God isn’t, by His very nature, indecisive.

I don’t believe God calls Christians to stall. I believe God calls us to act. The very core of our role as believers is found in the Great Commission and the key word is a verb… GO.

• I think I want to look for a new job, but I’m waiting for the Lord to make it clear.
• I like Joe but he’s not a Christian, so I’m waiting on God to make it clear to me.
• I feel compelled to reach Mary for Christ, but I don’t know how to start so I’m just waiting on the Lord.
• I want to make this deal but I just don’t know…. I’m waiting on the Lord.

So, what are you waiting for? Are you blaming God for missed opportunities? (Which is the next step, isn’t it? "I was thinking about a new job, one became available that looked great, but I decided to wait until God made it clear to me, but then the job offer expired… so God closed that door.")

Take some action.

• Turn that prayer request into a first step.
• Stop liking the boy who isn’t a Christian… God wouldn’t want you to sin.
• Get some evangelism training.
• Pursue the deal.

I think a lot of the people I know are indecisive, not because of a character flaw, but because they lack the actual skills to make good decisions. I’m not an expert, and I make mistakes, but this is how I make decisions.

1. Consult the Word. This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many times something that makes perfectly good sense is actually taught in the Bible. Make a good decision would never involve my sinning.
2. Seek counsel. Seriously, I never skip this step when it comes to big decisions. Heck, I even seek the counsel of my friends, pastoral-types, Kristen, parents, and the people in my life whom God has placed for MINOR decisions.
3. Self-evaluation. When I hear what God’s unshakable word says, then listen to the counsel of the wise people God has put in my life… I evaluate the decision.. is this the best decision for me? Do I have to do this now? Is this too good to be true? Is this as bad as it looks? What kind of emotions is this bringing about? Is this a distraction from my life’s mission?

When all 3 steps are done. Boom… I make a decision.

I trust you Lord. I trust that His ways are better than my ways. And I trust that His path is better than my path.

While I never want to be decision happy… I also never want to counsel people to blame God for their inability to get stuff done in their lives. I believe God has equipped each believer with the ability to make the best/wisest decisions and make stuff happen. It’s our role to trust God’s leading.

Let our yes be yes and our no be no. But let God’s people be decisive. God’s name is "I am." You don’t have to wait for "I am."

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