Making a BIG decision?

Films speak the artistic language of story and I remember where I was when Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring first floored me.

Frodo is a small, unassuming hobbit tasked with destroying a dangerous “ring of power.” Humanity hangs in the balance while his calling bears down with untold intensity. Frodo does not seek the calling, the calling seeks him. He is not gifted with qualities that will render him successful, and he will war with the story of his own unlikeliness. His life will be a series of critical decisions that lead to destiny.

A few lines within the movie sum up the confluence of story and decision-making with parallels to our own lives,

There are aspects of our stories that we don’t choose, and yet the invitation of God is to partner with Him in Spirit-led decision making, activating potential that would lie dormant without our full “yes.” It's the ruptures within our story that are often obstacles in the way of this full “yes.”
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Here are three temptations to resist when confronted with important decisions:

When we exchange Spirit-led discernment with the filter of woundedness we forfeit the Spirit’s empowerment to help us see beyond the past and into the beautiful horizon of redemptive possibility. Beauty exists beyond the former things but in order to see this beauty we must invite God’s supernatural Spirit to carry us where we cannot carry ourselves in the natural. 

Fear in decision making is often rooted in past pain. This can lead to self-preservation, dismissal of opportunities, self-sabotage, analysis paralysis, and isolation. When we are led by the Spirit we may feel fear, but we are not mastered by it.

Prayer invites partnership with God; inviting His divine intervention through our circumstances and the impartation of the fruit of the Spirit, as well as the gifts of the Spirit, to equip us for every good work. When we resist prayer we resist wisdom mined from the secret place.

Every morning I awake to a framed poster of Frodo holding the ring of power, and it reminds me we all bear a ring, a story, that is uniquely ours to carry. 

Are you ready to invite the guidance of the Spirit in to steward the story and decisions that are yours and yours alone to carry?