Paralyzing indecision—when you’re frozen trying to pick among myriad options or anxious that you don’t have good choices—is a defining feature of modern life. But five forthcoming books from Christian authors promise help at the crossroads.
One suggestion these books have in common for struggling readers: Slow down. Take the time to develop discernment skills they can bring to any tough choice. “We were never created to make so many minute decisions so quickly,” says Eddie LaRow, acquisitions editor at Baker, which will publish God, What Do I Do? A Bible Study on Judges 1-5 About Making Wise Decisions in Uncertain Times by podcaster Katie M. Reid in June. “We need, now more than ever, books that help us recover what it means to make good and godly decisions, but also to pause and reflect.”
Reid connects lessons found in the Book of Judges, which traces conflicts both within the nascent Israelite nation and between the Israelites and enemy neighbors, to modern decisions that carry high stakes for a person’s life and future. “The book of Judges has so many examples of people trying to follow their own hearts and paths, and God sends judges to help correct them,” says LaRow. With her deep dive into the text, he says, “Katie invites readers to explore how we can stay on the God-designed path.” In her book, each hard decision can be seen as “training” for a future of faith in God.
These books also feature reader activities like journal prompts, worksheets, and prayers. “Christian readers are looking for a better map for a better life,” says Andrea Palpant Dilley, senior acquisitions editor at Zondervan, which published pastor Costi W. Hinn’s book Walking in God’s Will: Demystify God’s Plan for Your Life and Make Decisions with Confidence (out now). Dilley says readers seek books that offer strong, clear, faith-informed guidance by “authors who can say, ‘Hey, that way lies destruction. True decision-making freedom starts over here with God’s purposes, so follow me.’”
Hinn guides readers away from “decision-making cripplers” like procrastination, perfectionism, and “paralysis by analysis," Dilley says. She calls it Hinn’s “liberating approach that strips away the anxiety people often feel—‘Am I doing everything the right way? Is this God’s exact will?’—and helps them relax into God’s providence.”
Life cycle transitions are also rife with decision points. For young adults, that often involves the shift from college into “the real world”—combatting social isolation as friends scatter to jobs or grad school, struggling to find meaningful work, managing money, and building a life of faith.
Erica Young Reitz, an educator and leadership development specialist, revised her 2016 book After College: Navigating Transitions, Relationships, and Faith (InterVarsity, out now) for a new edition that addresses today's "extraordinary challenges," says Al Hsu, IVP’s associate editorial director. Today’s graduates came of age during a global pandemic and now face polarized politics and a threatened economy that Hsu calls a time of “heightened trauma and anxiety.” After College, he says, will help these young adults “avoid common pitfalls and find flourishing adult lives.”
Getting married is another decision that leads to many more, once the vows and rings have been exchanged. In Making Marriage Easier: How to Love (and Like) Your Spouse for Life (Moody, out now), parenting and marriage expert Arlene Pellicane uses biblical texts to frame four major decision areas—boundaries, gratitude, sharing, and fun—that she argues should be made by spouses together to foster a lasting marriage.
“Decisions and big moments are usually defined by all the little decisions and moments leading up to them,” says Randall Payleitner, VP and publisher at Moody. By focusing on marital decisions like saving for a vacation, speaking with gratitude rather than criticism, or talking honestly about sexual intimacy, Pellicane helps couples “simplify those big decisions so they can make the daily choices that follow suit,” Payleitner says.
Rev. Angela Williams Gorrell draws on her own experiences in divorce and career change, alongside insights from such historical decision-makers as activist Dolores Huerta and pioneering baseball player Jackie Robinson, for her book Braving Difficult Decisions: What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do (Eerdmans, out now). Just because a decision feels good doesn’t necessarily mean it's the best choice, according to Gorrell. But, says acquisitions editor Lisa Ann Cockrel, even if “bold decisions cost people something, like stability, safety, or comfort,” they may still be the right ones to pursue.
