A Gut Feeling

A friend recently told me about a problem she was having. There was one possible solution to her dilemma, but she said that she did not feel “at peace” with that option.

Like my friend, there are many who allow gut feelings to guide their decision making. For people who are usually clear minded and especially discerning, one’s gut may be a fairly reliable guide. However, the friend I was listening to struggles big time with anxiety issues. When she told me she didn’t feel at peace with this idea, I thought to myself, “she’s never at peace with anything.”
I have faced many decisions where none of the choices seemed perfect. However, a decision still had to be made. How do we handle these type of dilemmas?

The first and most important step is prayer. We have to ask God for direction and then listen to his answer. Secondly, we need to seek advice from other, trustworthy people. Also, it helps to make a list of our choices and the pros and cons for each option. We then need to carefully weigh possible solutions to see how they align with God’s word. Finally, we need to make actually make a decision and follow through with it…even when we are not initially at peace with it.

When Jesus prayed in the Garden at Gethsemane before his arrest he was clearly not “at peace” with the path he was preparing to follow. Mark tells us that Jesus was “deeply distressed and troubled” He said to the disciples, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," (Mark 14 33-34) But, Jesus understood that his crucifixion was within God’s will and necessary to provide salvation to his children. So, Jesus allowed the events leading to his death to unfold.

Life is full of decisions and the big ones can be tough to make. Be careful to not allow your emotions to get in the way of making smart choices.