A lesson · Does God Make My Decisions For Me?
TeenDoes God Make My Decisions For Me?
A practical way to move through the toughest choices.
Assumptions & Caveats
Before you begin
What you should know
The lesson challenges a transactional view of divine guidance. Instead of expecting a power greater than yourself to “pick Option A or B for you,” the framework teaches that clarity emerges when you become sufficiently grounded and reflective.
What we're assuming
The starting point: Most participants are currently navigating some genuine decision — whether about academics, relationships, communication with family, or weightier matters. They need not disclose their specific situation.
Learning goals
What they walk away with
- A reconceptualized understanding of “what a power greater than me wants” — framed as achievable clarity rather than hidden answers requiring guesswork.
- One usable decision-making tool (10-10-10) applicable to real choices this week.
- Recognition of the difference between confirmation-seeking and genuine assumption-testing.
- Confidence that taking an honest next step requires neither complete foresight nor certainty about the entire path ahead.
How to hold the room
Before you start talking
- Validate decisions of any scale as legitimate practice grounds. Participants may keep their specific choice private.
- Your role is equipping participants with methodology, not solving their individual circumstances.
- Some young people face consequential decisions with real safety implications. Consult the safety note before facilitating.
The lesson flow
Step by step
Each beat alternates a little input, a little doing, and a little reflecting. Skip, slow down, or stretch any of these to fit your group.
What We Actually Mean by “Guidance”
Guidance is not a power selecting between options as though through a vending machine. Instead, it emerges as you cultivate stillness and mental clarity, revealing the next appropriate action. Discussion question: “When you’re stuck on a decision, are you usually waiting for a sign — or avoiding actually deciding?”
Getting Some Distance
Introduce the 10-10-10 framework: evaluate how you’ll perceive this decision in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years. This recognizes intuition while distinguishing it from fear-based decision-making. Activity: Work through a real or hypothetical decision across all three time horizons.
Checking Your Own Assumptions
Humans naturally gravitate toward information confirming existing beliefs. Counter this by deliberately asking: “Where might my reasoning be flawed?” and “Am I drawn to this choice for genuine development, or for self-image protection?” Activity: Identify one assumption underlying the decision that remains untested.
You Don’t Need to See the Whole Staircase
After this reflective work, certainty about the entire trajectory is unnecessary. Close with: “you’re not carrying this alone, and you don’t need the whole picture — just the next honest step, in the light you actually have right now.”
What you'll need
The materials
- Paper and pens — or a shared digital document/whiteboard
- Optional printables: Visual “You Don’t Need the Whole Staircase”; Handout “The 10-10-10 Rule”
If it's not going well
When this one gets heavy
This tool addresses routine difficult choices — not crises. If disclosures emerge suggesting genuine danger (domestic instability, abuse reporting, personal safety threats), abandon reflective frameworks. These situations require immediate adult intervention, not deliberative methodology. Follow the site’s mentor safety guidelines (For Mentors page).
For the fuller tiered guidance — including what to do if someone discloses something serious — see For Mentors.
Help this get better
Teaching this to a group we haven't planned for?
Tell us — this only gets better with your eyes on it. We read every one of these.