When Should You Wait?

This week I was thinking through some impulse purchases we have made. Unfortunately, when I was stuck at home after a few setbacks, before our 2nd child and a few other times I made some large impulse purchases. Before Levi was born my wife and I decided we needed a larger vehicle and went shopping. We got suckered into taking this car home for the day/weekend and see how you like it, then come back and we will work out a deal if you like it. Well, after driving it for a few hours (plus with my wife 8 months pregnant) we went back to the dealership and closed the deal. In hindsight, Shea hated the car and never felt good about it, and shopping for a car while 8 months pregnant was not a good idea.

The point of all this rambling is simple. Just wait! For me, as a Christian, prayer should be my go-to in times like these. But, I'm far from perfect and susceptible to impulse purchases just like the next person. Plus, my personality is generally geared towards decision-making. I know this and have to stay on guard that I'm not too quick to make a decision on something important.

Patience is a virtue and for us if we are going to get control of just about anything we need to learn to wait. For one thing, God's timing is always perfect. Secondly, when we let, we give our emotions time to settle down and get out of the way of the right decision. 

Here are some quick tips to help you wait to make the right decision.

1. How important is this decision? On a scale of 1-5 give the decision a rating and dependent on the importance, wait that number of days. If you cannot wait then move on to step 2.

2. Seek council. Look for an impartial confidant that you can trust. Explain your decision to them and help to come to a conclusion. FYI, you may end up back on step 1 if you realize it is not really that urgent

3. Take each day to think through something else related to that decision, pro/con. If you have a 1-day window, try to think through at least 5 negatives. I say to focus on the negatives because generally, we tend to look at the positives.

4. Meditate/Pray. If you are not a Christian then just spend some quiet time to think about it. But if you are Christian it is time to bathe this in prayer over this time. By the end of the wait period if you do not have a clear direction, then it is time to wait some more.

Isaiah 40:31 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible as it relates to waiting.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (KJV)