For young adults, there are big life decisions to make: whether to go to college or not, what college to go to, what career path to take, whether to get married or not, and many more. At times it might feel stressful just thinking about the decisions that have to be made. God’s will is not for His people to feel stressed out but to manifest peace in their lives. As we trust in God’s ability to help us and keep our minds stayed on Him and His Word, we can make decisions with peace no matter what situations come up in life.
God has our best interests at heart, and we do not have to let important decision-making situations cause us to become stressed. We can trust in His ability to help us so that we can make decisions with peace. When we are trying to decide one way or another on an important matter, we can be tempted to become restless or anxious. We may even be tempted to become afraid or to doubt God’s ability to help us. In times like these we can hold onto the simple truths that God provides in His Word and trust Him to direct our way.
Proverbs 3:5,6:
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
What a wonderful promise to hold onto, that God shall direct our paths. We can trust Him with all our heart, lean not unto our own understanding, acknowledge Him in all our ways, and know that He absolutely will direct our paths. God can show us what to do in situations. God shall direct our paths, and we can make decisions with peace.
Even when situations or circumstances seem negative, we don’t need to fear. We can remain at peace, trusting in God’s ability to help us.
Psalms 46:1,2:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.
God’s peace is not dependent on our surroundings or circumstances. The peace that comes from our trust in God is greater than any situation or decision we face. God’s peace will remain as challenges come up, and it is His peace that will guide our decision making to victory. We can apply this simple and powerful truth in Psalms 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God….”
Keeping our minds stayed on God and His Word is another way that we can make decisions with peace. When I was trying to decide what to do after I graduated from college, I was not peaceful. For a while I was going back and forth on what to do. My mind was not “stayed.” Then I took time to pray and bring my thoughts back to the Word. I recited one of my favorite verses—Isaiah 26:3:
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
I reminded myself that as long as I was putting God first and including Him in my decision-making process, everything would work out just fine.
For us to have that perfect peace, it takes staying our minds on God and building our trust in Him. Staying our minds on God means that we constantly bring our thoughts back to God’s Word as our standard no matter what happens in life. We want our first thought to be, what does God’s Word say? As we consistently put God’s Word on in our minds and lives, it helps us maintain our trust in God, whether big or small situations come up. When we keep the Word as our standard, we are in a better position to get understanding on what to do. When we seek God first, He gives us what we need when we need it.
Matthew 6:33:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
The answers we find in God’s Word will bring peace as we apply them in our lives. As I applied Isaiah 26:3, I realized that I wanted to serve God in a bigger capacity. For me, that meant working on Staff at The Way International Headquarters, and that decision has blessed my life because I get to learn, serve, and grow. I know it was the right decision for me.
For young adults, there are many decisions to make, but by trusting in God’s ability to help us and by keeping our minds stayed on Him and His Word, we can have His perfect peace in the midst of all our life decisions.