When You Struggle with Your Decisions, Mama

Tonight we will talk about what to do when you struggle with your decisions, mama. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Do you ever struggle with decision making as a mama? We're gonna talk about that tonight on midlight. Do you ever find yourself lying awake in the middle of the night, replaying a decision you made earlier in the day, or one that you're still trying to make? Should I have said that? Did I choose the right thing for the baby? Am I doing this right or this wrong with my parenting? If you find that your mind keeps second guessing, you're really not alone, Mama. And tonight we want to talk about that struggle. Because we second guess, honestly, because we care, because the stakes feel high when little people are involved, because we're tired and the voices in our heads get louder when the house is quiet. And it's not a weakness, mama, to feel this way. It's the weight of loving our people well. We have to be careful because living in constant second guessing steals the peace that God wants to give us. And I want to share a verse with you tonight from Proverbs 3, 5 through 6. And I feel like this is such a good foundation verse for us tonight. And we've talked about it before, but I want to share it again, because like we've talked about, oftentimes the Bible will overlap itself in that it may speak to us one way one day and another way another day. That's why it's called the Living Word, because the Lord speaks to us daily. Also called the daily bread. So tonight I want to tell you about Proverbs 3, 5 through 6. And it says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, and all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. I am in the midst of making some big decisions right now for our family, and I take my role as a decision maker seriously, and I recognize that my decisions have that weighty impact on everyone in my family. And I was up the other night myself in the middle of the night, and I was thinking about things and struggling with decisions, and I found that I just laid there with my hands open, and I literally said, God, I come at this decision with open hands. You can give it or you can take it away. It's up to you, God. And it's a big one. It's a big decision. And I know I have two choices. I can lament in stress, or I can open my hands and allow the Lord to give or take away this particular thing that I am praying for. Maybe you have felt that way before. I also want to share with you James 1.5 tonight, which says, if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. You see, mamas, when we are in the decision-making process, this is what we need to do. We need to ask God for wisdom. Sometimes I simply ask God to either open the door or shut the door because I need a clear answer, and the Lord will do that. He will answer you. In fact, in Psalm 32 and verse 8, he says, I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will counsel you with my loving eyes on you. Is that not so precious to us, Mamas, that He will instruct us and teach us in the way we should go, and that He keeps a loving eye on us? Isn't that beautiful? So, Mama, I want to tell you tonight that God is not surprised by your indecision. He already knows the path. And you don't have to have perfect clarity before you move. Obedience often comes before the full picture. You know, I think about when God told Abraham to go out, but he didn't tell him where to go. He just said, Abram, and he was called Abram in this part of Genesis in chapter 12 in verse 1. And he says, Abram, go from your country, your people, and your father's household to the land I will show you. And it's interesting because in this verse, God gives a clear command, go, but deliberately withholds the destination. He doesn't hand Abram a map, a name of the place, or a timeline. He simply says, To the land I will show you. The destination would be revealed as Abram walked in obedience. And you see, in his situation, leaving meant abandoning everything he knew, his home, his relatives, his inheritance, his identity, his stepping into complete uncertainty. And yet, Genesis 12 4 tells us, so Abram went as the Lord had told him. No long debate is recorded, no list of conditions. He packs up, he takes his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all of their possessions. And he began to do what God told him to do, and he started walking. And it isn't until way later in Scripture in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 8 that we see this. It says, By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. And that is the heart of it, Mamas. God called him to move before showing him the full picture, and the clarity came on the way, and not beforehand. I think this is one of the purest biblical pictures of the struggle we're talking about tonight with decision making. Abraham had to decide to obey without knowing the where. He had every reason a second guess. What if I leave and it doesn't work out? What if God doesn't show me the next step? What if I'm wrong? Yet he moved, and God did show him. First the land of Canaan, and then the promise of descendants, and then the covenant, and the path unfolded as he walked. So, Mama, if you're lying awake at night second-guessing decisions, whether to wean, how to handle a hard day, whether to take a next step in life, or simply had a parent in this season. Abraham's story says, you don't always get the full destination before you take the first step. Sometimes you just go when he says go. And the where is revealed to you as you trust him for the next faithful move. It's not about having perfect clarity. It's about trusting the one who already knows the land he is leading you to. Mamas, God is with us in our decision making, and I think our story tonight, revealed to us in Scripture by Abram, is that sometimes the secret to making decisions is to obey and go. Listen to the Lord, know that He will direct you. So if you struggle to make decisions like I do, maybe tonight we can practice making some little decisions. Like I am in charge of making a decision about what we'll have for dinner. I am in charge of making a decision about who gets their baths tonight, and whether or not we'll make it to church for evening service. We will make the decisions we make, and they all matter to God, whether they are big ones or little ones. So when you feel the spiral start when you're making these decisions and struggling, I'm going to give you some steps. First, pause and say, Lord, I'm second guessing again. And then simply ask him, what do you want me to know right now? Then choose the next faithful step. Instead of trying to figure out the whole map, release the outcome after that, Mama, because your job is obedience. And his is the results. You can rest in that tonight, Mama. So tonight I'd like to leave you with a blessing from number six, twenty four through twenty six. May the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, be gracious unto you, and give you peace. Amen. Until next time, Mamas, hand those decisions over to God and be obedient and trust him for the results. We'll talk again soon. Take care, mamas.