The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions

by Emily P. Freeman

that it’s time to listen to your emotions rather than preach at them.

Having an uncluttered soul isn’t a one-time declarative statement but an ongoing way of being. Sometimes I feel centered in the early morning only to lose it by breakfast. Rather than being a scattered person unable to do anything, I want to be a gathered person equipped to do her next right thing in love.

What about you? What is something on your mind? Turn it into a question and add today. Sometimes the thing on your mind is happening today. The next

Worrying about my future job in October 2019

Sometimes our minds need time to process our realities, even when our reality is obvious to everyone else. No

It could be you’re anxious to make a decision, not because it’s necessary right now but simply because it’s nagging. This is legitimate,

If he lives within you, then that means he speaks, even now, through his Word, his people, and your own deepest desires as you confess them in his presence. Trust the voice that comes from within. If there’s a longing or a vision

But making a living is nothing if I’m not also making a life.

When I start looking for help before I’ve established a clear vision, it leads to me feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and emotionally whiplashed. If I don’t have a vision, purpose, or intention, then how do I know which steps are right for me to take?

you are doing on the level of your soul. This may mean you mute her feed or even unfollow her for a time. This

You know yourself better than anyone else. And maybe your next right thing is simply to step away (even temporarily) from photos, headlines, images, or updates that cause anxiety in your life. But this goes both ways. Bear in mind that, at some point, you may be the guru someone needs to ignore. Try not to take it personally.

I’m learning that the decision itself is rarely the point. The

point is becoming more fully ourselves in the presence of God, connecting with him and with each other, and living our lives as though we believe he is good and beautiful.

God is less interested in where we end up than he is in who we are becoming. Whether we’re employed or unemployed, encouraged or discouraged, filled with vision or fumbling in the fog, more than anything, our Father just wants to be with us. The most common way he shows his with-ness to us is in the actual, physical presence of other people.

have a hunch that he isn’t so concerned with the outcome of our decision, at least not in the same way we are. But he would be delighted to know that the decision we are carrying is moving us toward community and not away from it, that it is leading us to depend on others more and not less, and that it is turning our face toward his in a posture of listening with the hopeful expectation of receiving an answer.

But just because someone else would want it is not a good reason for you to say yes. I know that sounds like middle-school

Again, I’m not saying you should never say yes to those things. We do jobs, we have obligations, and we offer people favors all the time. But call them what they are: a job, an obligation, or a favor. Don’t call them great opportunities.

This might seem obvious, but we tend to ask the most easily accessible people for advice rather than considering if the people around us are actually modeling the life we want to live.

We are kingdom people and, in a real way, our time doesn’t belong to us; it all belongs to God. The problem is we’ve misunderstood

me early on about how only I carry the vision for my writing (business, parenting, career, and ministry). No one else does. Just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you’re supposed to start a business doing that thing, write a book about it, lead a team through it, teach it, get a degree in it, or anything at all. Even if everyone tries to tell you that you should. Even if you could make a lot of money for it. Even if it makes a lot of sense. Even if people tell you you’re crazy not to. Only you carry the vision. The better you know and communicate that, the more content and effective you will be. Wisdom from others can be a wonderful thing, but just know when you seek counsel from him and them and her it can also breed chaos and confusion. Pick your mentors wisely.

But it also doesn’t automatically mean they’re right. We can learn a lot from critique, from correction, from critical thinking

Gosh I do this way too often

someone who believes in you, your work, your art, or your decisions is pointing out a weakness or trying to make things better, it’s helpful and healthy to consider their words with humility and grace. Resist the urge to close yourself off from

The angry customer

Or the mean mom in the NICU

Replace the words of the critic with your words of peace.

repeating that negative opinion, texting your cousin words your coworker said about you, or rehearsing your defensive response in the shower. Pay attention to your posture when you repeat these negative, often hurtful phrases. Remember in Christ you have everything you need. Don’t give your critic words today.

When life becomes unpredictable and unsure, it’s easy to scatter apart in panic, to come undone, to be spread too thin, to forget who and where we are.

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? Matthew 6:30 Message

What is also true is we can’t move through what we refuse to acknowledge. And

coming up and don’t want to waste it but do want to know how to spend it well? Pick what you like, then see how it grows. Just this, in as many situations as possible.

Some of our self remains hidden beneath piles of daily activity we can see and shadows of shame we often can’t see. Perhaps today,

God has not forgotten and that glory is everywhere all the time, peeking out from behind warm eyes, tired hands, and pink clouds; a reminder that no matter how much we plan, list, discern, and plot, sometimes the best things

that happen in life are ones we never even know are coming, much less plan for. We can be so busy willing airplanes

Like finding dalton

It’s about my continual insistence that I am in control of my own life. It’s about the endless pressure I put on myself to make the right choice, the best choice, at the right time. I forget

or maybe never truly believe how often the best things that happen are, in fact, kind gifts that have nothing to do with me. My obsession with clarity and the quick fix blinds me to all the miraculous ways Jesus works in small surprises in the midst of the long haul—through

We make our decisions and choose our next steps, but we get scared when we can’t see the future. What if we chose to finally believe that our steps are leading somewhere good? What if we see God in the yes we say even though we feel scared? What if we decided to see him in a random phone call, a kind invitation, a free ticket, a gentle nod, a hand outstretched? What if we see him from the backseat of a stranger’s car as we pull up to the chicken place and call it good? If we continue to insist on holding on to control, we just might miss the story happening on the other side of the window. If he says he will do far more abundantly beyond all that we could ask or think, then who am I to stop before he gets there? As we make plans, fill out lists, and do the things that need doing, may we

remember still to remain open to surprise. Instead of insisting on clear plans, may we be willing to settle in and take the next right step even though it may lead someplace we didn’t quite pack for. May we stop insisting that everything have an explanation. Let’s be men and women who keep our ears pressed gently against the heart of God, willing to respond to faint whispers and small nudges, and even have an openness to be the wink of God for someone else. ❍ A PRAYER

Because our times are in the hands of God.

Am I allowing the darkness to do what the darkness does best—cover, protect, and grow?

The uncertainty of finding a new job at the end of 2019

in his own time

We get into trouble when we pit two

things against each other that could

also coexi...

What it does mean is there is still much to learn, you are desperately in need of Jesus, and here is where you can walk together with him toward health and wholeness.

It’s not a black-and-white world, which

means decisions are rarely right or wrong.