Unsure About What You Should Do?  Try This One Thing.

Has life ever left you feeling so confused, upset, or exasperated the questions “What should I do?,” or “What is my next step?” rattle around in your brain non-stop?   Read on and I’ll tell you the answer I discovered.  It applies to almost EVERY decision you need to make.

Too many questions, too few answers

Ten men sat around my conference room table, mostly quiet, heads in hands.  It was the middle of the day, we should have been busy – making conference calls and conducting business.  But it was 2009, in the belly of the beast of what is now called the Great Financial Crisis.

Those ten guys were a small group of friends I pulled together to journey together through one of the worst economic collapses to hit our country.  Like today, work was not only slow or non-existent, some of us no longer had jobs.  

I looked forward to this time together.  We shared ideas about life, prayed for each other, and spoke honestly about the stress on our marriages, our families,  and our bank accounts.  We were anxious.  We were nervous.  And we had no idea when the misery would end.  We didn’t know what to do.  

A familiar situation

One particular Thursday,  I sat at the end of the long mahogany conference room table, gazing out the window into a dreary grey February sky.  I wanted to ask the question that had been rolling around in mind.  I had been wrestling with it, but I wasn’t getting anywhere.  I was frustrated.  Nothing was clear to me.

So I turned to the group, and threw it out there, “What is God’s will for my life?”

I listened.

I waited.

But I got nothing.  Crickets.

Not surprisingly I was told to pray about it.

And so I prayed (some more).  I asked (some more).  I looked (some more).  And still, no answer came to me.

I was frustrated.  I wanted to know what to do, and I didn’t want to get it wrong!

My question answered

Fast forward eight years, I was listening to Rick Warren as he asked, “Do you want to know what God’s will for you is?”

Immediately my world went silent.  I came close to embarrassing myself by leaping-up and screaming, “Yes!  Tell me, it’s about time someone answered my question!”  

Minutes and hours seemed to crawl by, and then he said, 

“Know Him.”

I fell back in my chair, my mouth hung awkwardly open.

I’m not sure what answer I expected to hear, but I didn’t expect something so simple.  So elegant.  So perfect.  So common sense.  

I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with my eye on you, I will give counsel.  Psalm 32:8 CSB

The perfect answer to indecision

The answer I received, you can apply to every decision you make, because decisions always involve other people.  It’s the perfect answer for guiding you to a well-informed response.  Because when you KNOW someone, well, that means you KNOW them.  And I don’t mean in a superficial or impersonal way, like you know they exist.  Or you know their name.  Or you know what they look like.  Or you know where they’re from.

When you KNOW someone, you take the time to learn about them.  You ask them questions.  You study them.  You listen to them.  You think about what they have to say.

In return, you understand what they want from you.  You understand what they need from you.  And you understand why they say what they say and do what they do.  

And if you KNOW someone, you can then decide whether to trust them.  And if you trust them, then you can act with confidence on what they want from, or for you.  This knowledge, this trust, should inform your action.

The answer that applies to any situation

When you take your first baby boy home, what do you do?  Know him.

When your daughter brings her first serious boyfriend home, what do you do?  Know him.

When your boss is looking for a new “number two”, what do you do?  Know her.

When you have a first date with the girl of your dreams, what do you do?  Know her.

When your husband is distant and you’re not sure why, what do you do?  Know him.

It’s simple advice but hard to do; because to KNOW someone requires time and effort.  So the next time you’re facing a decision that involves another person –  make sure you know him or know her.  And your choice will be a lot simpler than you think.

Be Wise and Successful..

1. Commit to know someone and take action to kickstart the relationship.

2. Invest your mind, body, and soul when you’re present in the relationship.

3. Reveal yourself, knowing someone is a shared and reciprocal experience.  

4. Expect results.  If the person is not showing up for you in a healthy and positive way, move on.