A life-changing decision needed to be made and I was the only person who could make the final call.

Deep in my heart, I knew there were only two options: God’s way or my own way.

I remember sitting with my Bible, reading the book of Proverbs, and trying to fill my mind with Biblical insight. The more I read, the more confirmed the answer became.

There was a problem though.

I didn’t like the truth or the answer I knew I needed to make. Choosing to accept the insight and wisdom I was gleaning from the Bible meant I had to make a really hard decision. One I didn’t feel like making.

Despite the fact that I was very stubborn looking on the outside, I knew exactly what I needed to do.

I was committed to following God no matter how hard.

Long ago I’d made the decision to follow God’s path and trust in His Word no matter how difficult.

In my early teen years, I had made the commitment to listen to wise counselors and trust the Bible’s teaching no matter the cost.

I had concluded that in the heat of a tough decision, I probably wouldn’t have common sense or basic logic. I knew I’d need to have outside input or else I’d make a decision totally driven by my feelings.

I’m so grateful I made the commitment to choose God’s way over mine and I’m extra grateful God gave me the grace to stick with it in a very difficult moment.

To this day my prayer continues to be “God, give me the grace to choose Your Word over my feelings.”  

When you are faced with a hard decision, will you follow God or will you follow your heart?

Sadly, many young women haven’t taken the time to think ahead and pre-decide what they will do when faced with a hard decision. Instead of thinking rationally and biblically, I’ve seen countless young women act on emotion and end up going down a path they never imagined they would.  

I want to encourage you to take some time to think ahead.

What kind of woman do you want to be 1 year from now?

5 years from now? 10 years from now? You have the ability now to set yourself up to become that woman. I encourage you to begin planning and preparing right now to become that kind of woman.

Here are just a few of the commitments that I made as a teen to set myself up for a wise and Christ-centered future.

1. I won’t marry a guy that my parents aren’t in total support of.
2. I won’t start a “secret” relationship with a guy.
3. I will save my first kiss for my wedding day.
4. I won’t communicate with a guy on a consistent basis without my parents knowing about it.
5. I will seek outside wisdom and counsel whenever I’m faced with a difficult decision.
6. I will seek outside accountability and welcome help from those who know me best.
7. I will continue to be actively involved in a sound Bible-believing church.
8. I will regularly read Christian books that challenge me to grow in my faith (at least 15 a year).

This list includes a few of my pre-determined commitments that I set in place to help me choose wisdom over my own emotional desires. My hope, as a teen girl, was to set my future self up for success.

I so wanted to honor God with my life and I knew I needed serious focus if that was going to happen.

As a now 29-year-old woman, I look back on those commitments with gratitude in my heart. I am grateful God allowed me to stay on course and become the kind of woman my teenage self-wanted to become.

If you want to prevent making unwise decisions in your future and become a godly woman, I can’t encourage you enough to think ahead. Begin writing your own list of commitments and convictions.

Pray for them, share them with a wise mentor, and start implementing them today.

Please don’t assume that you will automatically always choose the wisest, most God-honoring decisions. If you aren’t prepared ahead of time, and spiritually ready to handle hard decisions, you probably won’t naturally choose the wisest option (the pressures of our sinful hearts and influential culture are intense).

How to prepare for a God-honoring future.

I want to challenge you to create your own list of commitments. Decide now what you are willing to do and what you aren’t willing to do.

Have a vision for your future self so that when the difficult and confusing times come your way you will have a predetermined goal to shoot towards.

Keep in mind that this list isn’t “full proof.” It’s simply a goal for you to shoot toward so that you can stay on the straight and narrow. So that you can begin preparing to become that godly woman you imagine yourself to be in the future.

Will you plan for a wise future?   

Do you have specific commitments you’ve made to help set yourself up for success in the future?

What are those commitments?

How are you currently setting yourself up for success in your future?

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