How to Make No-Regret Decisions

If you want to walk in God's will and make no regret decisions, you need to have the right tools and knowledge. I want to provide you with a biblical decision-making tool that I've developed so that when you come to a fork in the road, you can confidently make a decision you know is in line with God's will.

Some people like to wing their lives, but as Christians, we're called to be planners, just like our God is a planner. I want you to think about the character of God for just a moment before I walk you through the decision-making tool. When he chose to redeem us, did he wing it or did God plan? When he sent His Son to die, did he know what he was trying to accomplish? When Christ rose and then ascended, did God have a plan to send anyone else to be a helper? He absolutely did. God plans and He's a planner. And we as his image bearers ought to be the same way. Now we're going to do this imperfectly, but we can put into practice basic principles of wisdom and prudence to make great and biblical decisions. So let me give you my seven Ps for no-regret decisions. 

1. What is our process to make great decisions? 

Everybody needs a process. And this will test another nonrelated P we're all familiar with called patience. Patience is something we struggle with. It's not exactly a natural trait when it comes to making decisions, but that can lead to impulsively bad decisions.

As with any important goal, breaking down how you're going to approach it will help you think through it logically. And so you need a process. Consider this no different than what an architect does when he or she begins to lay out a blueprint. No construction material has been purchased, no major building has begun, and some details are still to be determined. But the blueprint serves as a guide when things start to move when designers get consulted, when contractors get hired, and when permits get approved.

You need a process before you make a major decision.

2. Have we prayed?

Time and time and time again, bad decisions are accompanied by prayerlessness. Perhaps the greatest downfall of our decision-making process is not the error of a final decision. God can turn any situation around for his glory and our good, but our lack of prayer about decisions before we make them, whether it's because we're in a rush and impatient, and so we just get impulsive or just out of forgetfulness, often because we get overwhelmed with anxiety and we get so concerned about other things we don't stop to pray.

By contrast, a good decision will be accompanied by prayer. That investment of prayer will always pay dividends. An investment of prayer is never wasted, it's never lost. It doesn't slow down our progress. Some people say "I don't have time to pray. I need to make a decision." I would argue prayer is essential for the Christian to make biblical great no-regret decisions and it's fundamental to making decisions that God will bless. 

3. Have we sought counsel with prudence? 

People who consistently make wise decisions are typically those who have learned to love collaboration and consultation with biblically minded individuals. You know, nobody is truly self-made. No one's success is from their plans, alone and without insight from somewhere or someone else. Proverbs constantly references how the wise seek counsel from wise counselors and the fool ignores sound wisdom and only wants to hear his own opinion. That always leads to folly. Who you listen to matters when you're thinking through a decision. Ask someone or multiple people who have your best interest in mind and people who have proven to be wise and not just people who like to give and hear their own opinions. 

4. Have we established the right priorities? 

Priorities are a powerful decision-making tool. They allow you to think about what matters most and make decisions in light of that. So for Christians, priorities are ultimately shaped by a love for Christ and a willingness to live for him above all else. When you're facing a fork in the road, you need to consider your spiritual priorities, your financial priorities, your relational priorities, and your eternal priorities. All four of those are derived from Scripture. God wants you to excel in each one of those priorities and they will help you sift through decisions that could come back to bite you if not properly prioritized. 

5. Has God given us permission based on what the Bible teaches? 

We have more freedom in our decision-making than we often think. Unless a decision is accompanied by an explicit sin, the Bible paints a bigger picture mentality wherein glorifying God is the ultimate goal. This is going to be liberating for you who have anxiety over every micro decision you make. Some believers get so superstitious over every decision that it can be crippling. They imagine that they're going to lose God's favor and blessing with any trivial decision. And that is just a sneaky form of legalism that believes God is waiting to give me a divine backhand. If I buy this car over another, I buy that house over another, or I take a different job or even look at a different school.

Go to the Bible, obey His explicit commands, yes and amen. But enjoy the liberty he's given for some decisions when you have your priorities in order. 

6. Have we considered the long-term perspective? 

From beginning to end, God is a planner. He planned for creation, he planned our salvation, he planned our sanctification, and he has planned for our ultimate glorification. So if God is a planner with a long-term perspective, we imitate him in that way. One of the ways we can do this is in our decision-making processes and thinking through where this decision will ultimately lead to. As human beings, we're naturally driven by our immediate desires and instant gratification. For the Christian though, the short-term results of any given decision are not unimportant, but they're not the primary driver. The long-term perspective must be given its place and we should think deeply, humbly, and prudently about how our decisions will affect our future. 

7. Is this decision accompanied by peace?

Have you ever talked to somebody who's made a decision and maybe there was some pushback with their decision and they responded with a spiritualized statement like, well, regardless of what you think, I feel peace about it. I wouldn't say that's wrong or that it's sinful to rest in the fact that you feel a subjective peace about a decision, but I'd like to say that's the dessert portion of the meal, so to speak. Sure, it's sweet to experience feeling subjective peace, but to make great decisions that honor God, you need to pursue objective peace. In the end, subjective peace can be misleading because your personal feelings can fool you. Meanwhile, objective peace can be revealing. The goal is to pursue objective peace that comes from conversations with a spouse, a trusted friend or advisor, or others who have scrutinized the decision from multiple angles. Again, you can value personal or subjective peace, but decision-making strength often comes from an abundance of wise counselors.

I hope this decision-making tool helps you. And if you want a deeper look at how to walk in God's will, check out my book titled Walking in God's Will.