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You trust God, so why do you still feel so unsure of yourself when it’s time to make a decision?

You want to feel confident recognizing God’s guidance and making good choices with Him. But when a decision comes up, you find yourself questioning your judgment, wondering whether you’re hearing Him correctly, and worrying about making a mistake. How do you develop the confidence to make decisions with God without constantly second-guessing yourself?

I know what it’s like to make a decision I believe God is leading me to make and then struggle to trust Him afterward. In this episode, I’m sharing how prayer journaling helped me rebuild that trust over time, and how your ongoing experiences with God can help you develop confidence in making decisions together.

You’ll learn:

• Why trusting God doesn’t always mean you feel secure about your own decisions.
• What a painful decision can do to your confidence in God’s guidance.
• How to recognize the places where making decisions with God already feels natural.
• Why smaller decisions can help you grow more comfortable cooperating with Him.
• How prayer journaling and Scripture can help you develop greater security in His leadership.

If you’re tired of feeling anxious about getting things wrong, join me for a conversation about building trust in God and becoming more secure in the decisions you make with Him.

Links Mentioned

Get our free Hearing God Starter Kit and learn the journaling process mentioned in this episode at:
Sophiculture.com/Guide

Get personal support for your relationship with God in our membership community at:
Sophiculture.com/Illumination

The “Golden Pathway” decision-making series:
Episode 7, Episode 9 and Episode 10

Have you ever felt like you’re always making wrong choices because you don’t know what God wants? Do you fear that you’ll make a mistake you can’t undo?

When a Decision Shakes Your Trust in God

Several years ago, I made a parenting decision I really thought God was leading me to make. I had discussed it with him in my prayer journal so I moved forward believing I was doing the right thing. But what followed was devastating. And it shook my trust in God in ways I never even thought possible.

The details aren’t mine to tell, but that experience forced me to wrestle with some incredibly difficult questions. How could I have been so certain? Why would he allow me to confuse my own thoughts and desires with his direction in such an important issue? And how could I ever feel confident making another big parenting decision?

Over the past few years, I’ve wrestled with how I could have believed I was following His leading and still experienced something so destructive. But I didn’t stop bringing my questions to God. I kept writing about it in my prayer journal. I told Him about my anger and confusion, and how my trust in him was dead. And over time, my journal showcased how that trust was very slowly and painfully rebuilt.

Learning to Trust God’s Leadership

That’s why I believe so strongly in the power of making decisions with God in your prayer journal. It’s not because it keeps you from misunderstanding His leading or experiencing painful consequences. It’s because it gives you a place to keep encountering Him, even when your confidence has been shredded.

The journey of parenting teenagers has also deepened how I think about God’s leadership. I know how much I want my kids to feel free to explore the world and make their own choices while I help them use good discernment. Then I understand why God wants this for me, and what it means that he’s not controlling my destiny.

Sure I’m limited as a parent in ways he isn’t, because he has a hand in everything that happens to me. But you and I can trust that he wants us to experience him and his world with freedom and excitement. His guidelines aren’t meant to feel like a burden but like a release to fully be ourselves without insecurity or anxiety.

Why You May Still Feel Insecure About Decisions

Maybe you feel freedom and security in some areas of your prayer life, but you don’t always sense His guidance in your decision-making. That uncertainty can affect how much you trust your own judgment and even how you see yourself in God’s eyes.

You may be hoping to feel confident about this before you’ve had enough experience of God’s companionship in your decisions to develop that confidence. And without ongoing experiences of making decisions together, it’s difficult to feel secure in His leadership.

I know what that’s like, because I’ve felt neglected by God in my decisions even after decades of prayer journaling. But continuing to make decisions with Him in my journal helped me rebuild the trust I thought I’d never recover.

How Prayer Journaling Helps You Build Trust in God

If you feel like you’re always making the wrong choice and doubt every decision you make, what you’re experiencing may not be a lack of confidence in your decisions. It may be that you haven’t had enough experience making decisions with God to feel secure in His leadership. That’s why making decisions with Him in your prayer journal helps you build trust that He’s guiding you into a good life, even when certain choices end badly.

Before I give you the step-by-step process for journaling this, I want you to understand a few things.

1. We can make decisions easily with God in some areas while we struggle in other areas. Noticing how he’s been our companion all along in the easier areas is part of gaining experience that builds trust.
2. Starting with small struggles and working up to the big ones is another part of building trust.
3. Seeing how God treats people in the Bible shows us how we can practice trusting him for our situations. That’s a huge part of developing the enjoyable companionship that grows our confidence.

When You Need More Experience Making Decisions With God

If you have ongoing uncertainty, it might just mean that you need more pieces of the process. In the “Golden Pathway” series, I gave specific instructions for hearing God in your decision-making. So if you’re unsure how to get all the pieces of the puzzle out on the table and make a wise decision, listen to episodes seven, nine and ten.

It could also be that you need more time, or maybe more journaling about what’s happening, or more insight about Biblical connections to your situation. Some days I write about my experience, other days I journal about how I’m thinking and feeling, and other days I get insight from what I’ve studied in the Bible.

The key is to come to your journal noticing what you want to talk about and talk to Him as if you’re writing a text to your best friend. Just tell Him what’s happening, what you’re struggling to understand, or how the light bulbs are starting to turn on.

It’s the fact that He’s aware of every little thing and inspiring this process that makes prayer so enjoyable. Being able to enjoy the companionship is the part that develops security. That companionship is what motivated me to keep journaling when my trust felt dead.

Three Steps to Journal Through Decision-Making Insecurity

Here’s the process:

Step 1: Recognize the pattern. Notice when you feel insecure about your choices and what you typically do to help yourself feel better. Do you turn to food or exercise, or Bible study, or alcohol? In that moment, how do you feel about your prayer journal?

Step 2: Open up your journal. Write your feelings, thoughts, and desires in a short letter to God. If you’re not sure how to do that, just imagine you’re texting a friend what’s going on and what you’re realizing.

Step 3: Continue the conversation by listening for how God may be responding. If you’d like help with the listening part, you can get my free Hearing God Starter Kit at Sophiculture.com/Guide. If you’ve already used that and you’re ready for the next level, email me at sara@sophiculture.com for access to our free Worship Wheel training.

Growing Secure in God’s Companionship

Once you’re naturally sharing your thoughts and desires with Him in your journal, prayer becomes a friendship rather than just an exercise. You’re not so worried about whether your choices are displeasing God because you can sense how much He enjoys showing you things and building trust with you.

And He knows that being too focused on behaving the right way takes the fun out of trying new things and just being together. So you begin letting go of the fear of making wrong choices and instead learn to trust that God enjoys helping you decide what to do.

Your enjoyment comes through expressing your thoughts and opinions and then getting insight from Biblical parallels to your situation. Remember that these insights should come from careful study or teaching by people who have done careful study. Of course, there will be errors and bias in most studies.

When You Make Mistakes Along the Way

When you notice there have been mistakes in your process, remember that God isn’t waiting to catch you in your mistakes. He knew you’d make mistakes, and He also knew that even your best decisions won’t always prevent calamity. None of this discourages him, because he’s always at work redeeming what goes wrong.

So continue expressing your thoughts and opinions about these things to Him as well, gaining His insight about whatever happens. It’s the joy of being with you in your choices, even when it doesn’t go well, that pleases Him. You can enjoy pleasing Him knowing it’s the togetherness and love that satisfies Him most.

He’s not monitoring how well you do prayer. He’s inviting you to resolve your insecurity in His presence and insights. You can sing or sit in silence or take a walk with Him. Treat Him like a person without a hidden agenda, not just a routine or a process that I’ve given you.

Do what builds the friendship and let Him satisfy your need for a really, really good Father. Ultimately he has your destiny in his hands but his goal is to enjoy a fun, healthy friendship with you. He’s not just there to fix you.

Trust Is Built One Experience at a Time

Decisions involve risk and so they can be uncomfortable. Asking God for guidance adds another layer of vulnerability and can make us even more uncomfortable. But it also gives us a moment to notice our thoughts and feelings, and consider what’s best along with our heart’s desire.

So if you feel unsure whether you can hear God, remember that He’s not expecting you to figure out how to hear Him all by yourself. He’s the one teaching you. You’re free to make mistakes and come back to Him for help along the way. He wants your life to be a work of art, and He will heal your insecurities little by little over time.

As you continue using your journal, you’ll be able to look back and see how you’ve grown in your skill of decision-making. Trust is built one experience at a time.

Now, Let’s Pray This

Lord, you know I feel anxious a lot of the time. And you know how much I want to feel confident making decisions with you. Thank you for being the rock underneath all my tumultuous experiences. Remind me this week whenever I need to be reminded that you’re the same creative, enjoyable best friend you’ve always been. And you love connecting with me no matter how off-track I am. I trust you to love me the right way every time. Amen.

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Next Steps:

Get our free Hearing God Starter Kit at: Sophiculture.com/guide

Get personal support in your relationship with Jesus in our membership community at: Sophiculture.com/illumination