Originally Posted on February 27, 2020
In a class I took last semester, my professor pointed out something really interesting. We hate making decisions, especially as Generation Z. I knew my professor was right because I immediately felt convicted. As a class we talked about why this was, and I continued to think about this outside of the classroom. Why do I hate making decisions?
If I’m being completely honest, when I am faced with making a decision I am terrified. What if I make the wrong decision? If I choose wrong, then I made a mistake. Depending on the situation, this mistake could have consequences. What will others think of me when I make this choice?
Fear is the biggest reason why I hate making decisions. I keep thinking of the what if scenarios, and I have to hope I choose the right one. Because I’m afraid, I look for confirmation before making the decision. I want clarity. Maybe your reason for not wanting to make decisions differs from my own, but I bet in the end most of us can say we want clarity before making a choice.
There is no faith when we say no to something out of fear of not being able to see clearly. That is what following after Jesus looks like. Faith is saying yes despite the fear and lack of clarity. He isn’t going to reveal his entire life plan to you all at once. He is by your side every step of the way. All you have to do is listen to His voice. As one of my favorite worship songs says, “You won’t call where you won’t lead” (I Don’t Wanna Go by Chris Renzema).
“Faith is saying yes despite the fear and lack of clarity”
One of my favorite scriptures that reminds me of of faith is when Jesus invites Peter to walk on the water with Him in Matthew 14: 22-33. Wind was blowing and waves were crashing. It was loud. The disciples were afraid, but Jesus came to them. They thought He was a ghost, but Jesus said “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here!” They couldn’t clearly see Him. But Peter asked Jesus to command him to come to Him if it was truly Him. Jesus told him to come and so he did. Peter focused in on the image of Jesus and relied on His voice. “But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink” (Matt. 14:29). Peter had began to rely on his vision instead of the voice of Jesus in that moment. He looked at what surrounded him right now.
How often do we do this? We start walking toward what Jesus wants us to do, but then we see what is going on around us and we get scared. We quit relying on the path we can’t really see that Jesus is leading us, and instead we rely on what we see right now. Here is the reality: Jesus can see so much more clearly than us. He sees our entire future. He is calling out to us to follow him even if we can’t see.
I can relate to this a lot as a college student, and I’m sure this is going to continue into the future in different ways. I am in college, studying Public Relations with a minor in Youth Ministry, and I still don’t know what I’m going to do with that yet. One of the things you will constantly be asked while your in college are the following two questions: What are you studying? What do you want to do with that? Heres the thing: I know the passions that Jesus has laid on my heart. I know my strengths and weaknesses. With that, I am studying a major and minor that I love. Career wise, I don’t really know what specific career is going to line up for me. God hasn’t lead me to that place yet. But I have faith that He will. There have been multiple opportunities that have popped up in this last year for me leadership wise that I was not expecting at all. God showed up for me in those moments that I put my faith in Him. I just followed His voice and it got me there. I trust that as long as I follow Jesus’s voice, He will get me to where I need to go.
So, my encouragement to you this week is this: Instead of going into a situation eyes wide open, try going in with ears wide open.
Abundant Joy 