Decisiveness

Imagine life is like a river. The flow of time is the rush of water leading you towards your final destination. Along the way, there are tributaries and many different paths the river can take, but time is always leading you in one direction. Now, imagine you are in a raft on this river of life, and as the flow of time pushes you forward, you have to make choices as to which tributaries you will navigate. Some tributaries are safe and well charted, some are dangerous and unknown, but each major direction you choose will define your life. So how do you choose the right path? Most of the time, people just follow what everyone else is doing and cruise on the rivers of certainty. It is easier to follow the lead of others or have someone else make a decision for you. People hate making decisions because they fear they will make the wrong decision. But indecision is actually a decision itself. The river of life is always flowing forward, and thus, will make a decision for you...if you can’t.  Time after time, Jesus put people on the spot with a question that would affect their path in life. Matthew 19:21 “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Wham! That is decisive moment. Jesus is asking the rich young man to give it all up and take a totally different direction. And His response, Matthew 19:22 “When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”

Here is a good thing to remember: When you ask God what you should do in life, expect His answers to be towards your heavenly goal, not for the confirmation of a comfortable path. Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

Decisiveness: So if life is a flowing river, and we are constantly making decisions about which path to take, decisiveness is an important trait to develop. The quicker you make decisions, the clearer your path will become. Unfortunately, the pain and suffering of indecision has caused many people to be swept downstream into the waters of regret. People who are indecisive usually live tormented and fearful lives because they are double-minded and paralyzed by inaction. Faith does not exist in an environment of indecision. But fear not, even if you don’t have the wisdom in a situation, you can ask the Lord in prayer and He will lead you. James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Being decisive in your faith and everyday actions will begin to dramatically change you. Act on what you know is right, and when you receive answers in prayer, follow it up with action. Many times, Christians will use the term “waiting on the Lord” in such a way to justify indecision. Don’t be one who uses religious terminology to procrastinate, just do what is right and move on. The more decisive you become, the more your fears will abate. If you have a problem right now in life, it’s most likely you are struggling to make a decision. Start trusting the spirit of the Lord inside of you and make your decision. “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing." — Theodore Roosevelt.  

Decisiveness is also a key ingredient across other facets of life. For example, people who are successful in business seem to all share decisivness as a common trait. In Napoleon Hill’s classic business book, Think and Grow Rich (1937) he states after studying 500 self-made millionaires, "Analysis of several hundred people who had accumulated fortunes well beyond the million dollar mark disclosed the fact that every one of them had the habit of reaching decisions promptly."  Additionally, Hill writes, "People who fail to accumulate money, without exception, have the habit of reaching decisions, if at all, very slowly, and of changing these decisions quickly and often." So even in business, being decisive is a key to success. Decisiveness shows faith and faith is the key to everything. If you are lacking direction, pray, and God will show you. But act upon the answers you get in prayer. Be decisive in your faith and watch your world change.