If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind; for the doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. -James 1:5-8, NRSV
How are you with making decisions? Are you a heavyweight or a lightweight? Do you look decisions in the face with confidence and boldness and choose wisely? Do you waver and get stuck in every single possible outcome; thereby, never making a decision? Do you capitalize on logic and experience to draw the best conclusion available at the time? Do you catastrophize and remain immobilized in fear? Do you look at scripture and listen to the still small voice and hear the answer with ease?
If you are a champion when it comes to decision-making, pray for your neighbor. If you struggle, take a look at James 1:5-8. Indecisiveness is a form of double-mindedness. It’s not pleasing to God, not because God is angry with us but because God wants us to flourish. However, indecisiveness prevents that. It often leads to missed opportunities and regrets. God can’t help us if we can’t decide what we need or want from God.
James reminds us that while we may doubt ourselves, we don’t have to doubt God. While we may not have wisdom, God does. While we may not know the consequence of every decision, God does. While we may not see into the future, God does. And, because God does, we need only to ask God for wisdom to choose wisely and trust that God will give us that wisdom. We cannot doubt that God will grant us that wisdom.
To doubt is to lack faith in God. Even when we lack faith, we can simply say, like the father of the boy with the mute spirit “I believe but help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). Even when it seems impossible to the human mind to be decisive, Jesus reminds us that “with God all things are possible,” (Matthew 19:26). In that realm of possibility with God is a decisive mind filled with clarity and faith in a God who will supply our needs according to his riches in glory.