Here’s a simple way to get unstuck when you’re worried, overwhelmed, or overthinking a decision.
Ask yourself one question:
What kind of thing am I dealing with?
Most issues fall into one of three categories.
1. Settled Things
These are things that have already been decided.
Your birth family.
Your nation of origin.
Your height.
Your past decisions.
Your upbringing.
Things you did.
Things done to you.
Some of these things were decided by your own past actions. Others were decided by God’s providence. As Paul says in Acts 17:26, God determined our appointed times and the boundaries of our dwelling place.
You can’t go back and change these things.
So the question is not, “How do I undo this?”
The question is, “Does this have any bearing on what I should do now?”
If not, leave it alone. Don’t spend your life fighting settled things.
2. Action Things
These are things you have some real control over.
Your diet.
Your exercise.
Your spending.
Your work ethic.
Your attitude.
Your friendships.
Your theological knowledge.
Your presentability.
Your habits.
Your skills.
These are your controllables.
You may not control everything about your health, finances, relationships, or future. But you usually control more than you think.
So if the issue falls here, don’t overthink it.
Take direct action.
Start small if you have to. Make the call. Go on the walk. Open the Bible. Apologize. Apply for the job. Pay the bill. Clean the room. Do the next faithful thing.
3. Prayer Things
These are things outside your direct control, but not outside God’s control.
The economy.
The weather.
The housing market.
The availability of a suitable spouse.
Other people’s choices.
Timing.
Open doors.
Closed doors.
You can’t force these things. You can’t grab the steering wheel of providence.
But God can act.
So you take indirect action through prayer. You ask. You wait. You prepare. You remain faithful. You do what you can do and trust God with what only He can do.
So ask yourself:
Is this settled?
Then accept it and learn from it.
Is this actionable?
Then do something.
Is this outside my control?
Then pray and trust God.
This is a simple framework, and yes, it’s a little reductionistic. But that’s the point. The goal is not to explain every complexity of life. The goal is to get you unstuck.
Most people waste too much energy trying to change the past, control what belongs to God, or pray about things they simply need to obey.
So categorize the issue.
Then act accordingly.
Accept what is settled.
Act on what is yours.
Pray over what belongs to God.
Rosaria Butterfield boldly sharing truth at the Answers for Women conference this weekend, apparently after eating a breakfast of Grape-Nuts sprinkled with gunpowder:
"...It's a sin to tell a lie, but it's also a sin to believe a lie. And so, there is no such thing as a gay man or a lesbian woman or a transgender woman (and then you can fill in all of the different categories that come under the umbrella, LGBTQ).
And the reason is because, in Genesis where we have to start, we are given our identity. Our identity is in the image of God, bearing it as a man or as a woman. There are two kinds of people in the world—a man or a woman.
A man who says he's a gay man is a man with a sin pattern that Jesus came to help set him free from if he will mortify it, repent, believe, go to war. It's very hard to do that. I'm not suggesting it's easy, but that is our job, and you know what? It's not just somebody whose indwelling sin is homosexuality who happens to have that call. It's everyone, because we are all born in the sin of Adam. And it is because of the sin of Adam that we have sin in our nature.
And that quite frankly means that every person in this room needs to wake up every morning, drive a thousand fresh nails into your choice sin and do that before breakfast and then do the same thing before lunch. And if you do that, Satan's gonna get a little tired of you.
But here's the problem, homosexuality is the only sin pattern with a civil rights group behind it. And therefore, people who are deceived, as I was and Christopher [Yuan], by the lusts of our flesh have a cheering community behind you, and this is where you get the rub.
You see, it used to be that the church was clear and the world was the world, but because we have wolves in shepherds' clothing, we have way too many young people who are leaving the true church and claiming, 'Well, my same-sex attracted pastor told me it's not a sin to be gay.'
And you know, we are to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. I want to be gentle with the people who are trapped in the lie of LGBTQ, but I am not gentle with the wolves...I quite frankly think they need to get a job selling insurance until they repent..."
[Apologies for my shoddy video skills, but sadly, a big monitor was placed on the stage, blocking my view of the speakers for the Q&A.]