It often seems like every decision we make is critical. What can we do when we don’t feel like we’re receiving direction?
Photo by Jesse Bowser.
Many of us find it difficult to receive personal revelation; no matter how hard we pray, how long we fast, or how intently we read the scriptures, obvious and immediate answers just don’t come. I have never experienced a voice in my head telling me what to do, and I never feel moments of perfect clarity. For a long time, it felt as if I was being left to my own devices—that my Heavenly Father wasn’t listening or didn’t care. I became terrified of making any decision. Fear of making the wrong choice and disappointing my Father in Heaven paralyzed me. I had a college to choose, a major to declare, and other all-important plans to make, and I was overwhelmed.
Then I reread my patriarchal blessing. It didn’t say where my “right path” would be, or whether I needed to change course. It simply told me to keep going and to keep doing what I was doing. In President Thomas S. Monson’s talk, “Choices,” President Monson reminds us, “As we contemplate the decisions we make in our lives each day…if we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice.” I came to know that when the next “correct” step is unknown, a step in any direction can be the right one, as long as it leads us to Christ. Acting in faith makes that step the right one.
As children of God, we all have the light of Christ to guide us in making decisions. Heavenly Father trusts me to do what is right for me, whether that means starting something new, turning around when I’ve made a mistake, or simply continuing to do what I am doing. As long as I keep the faith, I don’t need to be afraid of making the wrong choice or taking the wrong step. I only need to choose Christ.
Read the article, “Choices,” by President Thomas S. Monson.
Source: LDS.org
—Natalie Kokol, Mormon Insights Contributor
FEATURE IMAGE BY ESTHER TUTTLE
Find more insights:
If you want to read more on making decisions and coming closer to Christ, read Larry R. Lawrence’s talk “What Lack I Yet.”
You could also check out Lanae Valentine’s BYU devotional talk “Discerning the Will of the Lord for Me” to learn more about understanding what the Lord has planned for you.
There are also lots of good insights on this topic in James B. Martino’s talk “Turn to Him and Answers Will Come.”