Recently, my family and I had to make a big decision — whether or not to relocate back to the UK after 20 years of living overseas. Each of us had different concerns between jobs, school, and friendships. It felt overwhelming and confusing. What was the right move for us?
None of us knew what the future held. It felt like taking a gamble, jumping into the unknown, and just hoping that there would be a positive outcome.
When I’m dealing with a challenge or facing a tough decision, I often forget that I don’t have to discern alone. I can invite God into the process. He can see the paths ahead of us and knows the best choice we could make.
READ: How I Use Ignatian Discernment to Help Make Decisions Big and Small
I remembered several Bible verses about how God can guide us and show us the way. I read some out loud to my family, and we prayed together. After, we began to feel more peace, confident that God would gently shepherd us away from uncertainty towards clarity. We ultimately decided to make the big move!
Here are six Bible verses that helped us with decision-making.
1. “Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.” — Jeremiah 42:3
The people of Israel were terrified because they were surrounded by enemies and were considering fleeing to Egypt. Theologians are divided about whether this prayer came from an earnest desire to know God’s will, or if the Israelites just wanted God to validate their own decision. In either case, God looks at the heart and knows when our prayer comes from a genuine openness to listen to him or to have our opinion validated.
During our family’s discernment, there were times when I wanted to hurry the process along and impose my own preference on the rest of the family. Praying this verse with a genuine openness for God’s answer was an important reminder to put my own desires aside and listen to God’s desires for me.
2. “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” — Psalm 143:8
During this decision-making process, I would spend much of the day full of confusion, deliberation, and worry. It would be late afternoon or evening when I would remember God and pray. This verse served as an important reminder to reach out first thing in the morning and put our trust in God all the day long. I started re-thinking my a.m. routine, spending time in prayer after I finished my morning exercise.
LISTEN: The Path of Discernment: Hearing God’s Call in Large and Small Choices
3. “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” — Proverbs 16:9
Most of the time, we don’t hear God’s voice audibly telling us what we should do. If we expected that, we would never get anything done! We are given minds to think, and the ability to take action and make plans. I like this verse as a reminder that part of being human is to step out into the unknown. But that doesn’t mean we are alone in our decision-making. God is with us through it all, and ultimately, it’s up to him if something should happen or not.
4. “Draw close to God and he will draw close to you.”’ — James 4:8
Thinking about a new life in a new place can be very exciting, and it’s easy to get distracted — focusing on the things of the world rather than the things of God. There were times during this decision-making process when I was focused solely on future plans like arranging home renovations, buying new furniture, and planning hikes to explore new neighborhoods. In those moments, God would feel very far away. This verse reminds me that it’s not complicated to feel God close to me; I just need to draw close to him through intentional family prayer time.
READ: 3 Spiritual Reminders to Guide You When Making Big Decisions
5. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” — Matthew 6:34
This verse helped ground me back in the present.
Thinking about moving gave me plenty of worries and concerns about the future. Would I be able to find a job? Would my daughter get into a good school? While I didn’t want to be oblivious to any downsides during my discernment, I did find it helpful to be reminded that God only expects us to take things one day at a time.
6. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:6-7
Making the decision to move back to the UK felt exciting, but then the reality set in. There are boxes to pack, pet passports to obtain, friends to tell. Suddenly, the fun dreams about the future were replaced with stressful logistics and sad goodbyes. I realized that while it feels burdensome, I don’t have to do it alone. Every worry can be transformed into a prayer.
