Do The Next Right Thing In Love – Emily P. Freeman

If you’ve ever made a pro/con list in the middle of the night, chances are you understand the power of an unmade decision. One reason why decisions can be so overwhelming is because we’re afraid we’ll make the wrong choice. 

Unmade decisions hold a lot of power to either close us up in fear or open us up to love. If you are unable to move forward into your next right thing because you are desperately afraid of making a wrong choice, pause for a moment and consider where that fear is coming from. 

You might have to get still for just the next ten seconds and try to identify your answer to this question. Is your fear coming from a place within you that feels solid and instructive or is it coming from a place that feels scattered and untethered? 

The thing about fear is it’s not always a bad thing and, despite what every meme and graphic on Pinterest tell us, the goal is not necessarily to get rid of fear altogether. 

The goal is to pay attention to our life as it’s united with Christ and make our moves as he leads. Sometimes, he’ll invite us to move and we’ll feel afraid, but that kind of fear has courage woven through it. We would do well to move forward with fear trailing behind. Other times we’ll realize our fear is coming from a place of anxiety and an out-of-control imagination. We would do well to leave that fear behind.

The fear instinct can give us information and drive us to take action. We’re hard-wired for it. But the kind of fear I have when I’m having trouble making a decision is usually the kind that feels threatening, whispering you’d better make the right choice or else.

God never speaks that way. If your fear of making a wrong choice is keeping you from making any choice at all, my hope is that you’ll find a bit more peace and maybe even one simple next right step you can take toward making a decision. Instead of being pushed by fear, be led by love.