We get loads of email questions about decision-making and the will of God, like this one today from a long-time listener to the podcast named Zach. "Pastor John, please help me. Should there always be a peace and calm about decisions before we make those decisions with confidence?" What would you say to Zach?

I'm not sure Zach is asking this exactly the way he wants to. Not to read Zach's mind, but I could be misunderstanding. It sounds like he wants to know whether he can choose, quote, "with confidence" that something is right to do if he doesn't have peace and calm before he chooses.

But acting with confidence, by its very nature, it seems to me, implies the conscience is clear. That's how you have this strong confidence. There is a kind of peace there if you're acting with confidence. So the way he puts the question seems all ready to contain the answer. You can only act with confidence if your action is untroubled by doubt and guilt.

That's what "with confidence" means. But not to be too picky. I don't think that's what Zach is really asking. I think what he means is, and this is a hard question, should you act, should you choose an action, if there is a lack of peace and a lack of calm in your heart about the decision?

I think that's what he's asking. It's a good question. My guess is that behind that question are a couple of passages of Scripture that he has been taught or read over the years. Colossians 3:15, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body, and be thankful." So, peace of Christ ruling in your heart.

Or the other one is Philippians 4, 6, "Don't be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." So, if we put those two texts together, Colossians and Philippians, if we put them together, it seems like the peace of Christ or the peace of God should function in our minds and hearts to hold sway there and protect, guard the mind and the heart from forces that would ruin the ability of the mind and the heart to trust God and to think rightly about his character and his will.

So Zach is right to connect the peace that Christ gives to his followers and the decisions that we have to make. There's a connection. So the question now remains, and now it has some biblical support behind it to make it all the more crucial. Should we act, should we choose an action, if there is a lack of peace or a lack of calm in our heart about the decision?

And let me make just several observations to point to an answer. Number one, what Paul does not say in those two texts is that peace and calm are the only factors in determining what one ought to do. The point of peace ruling in the heart is not to help you decide whether to obey explicit commands of the apostle.

For example, when Paul says in Romans 12, 14, "Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them." He does not mean that this command is optional if you happen not to have peace about it. The explicit commands of Scripture are to be obeyed, yes, ideally with a heart of great peace and great calm, but in the absence of that peace, we should confess our sinful anxiety and obey anyway.

Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. So that's the first observation. Here's the second one. When it comes to choices that are not explicitly commanded or prohibited in Scripture but depend on wisdom in the situation, the state of our hearts and our minds, the presence or absence of peace and calm do matter.

For example, Paul said in Romans 14, 23, "Whatever does not proceed, whatever behavior does not proceed from faith is sin." Now I think that means if you act against your conscience, even if what you do is not objectively wrong, it is sin for you to do it. And so, insofar as peace and calm are missing as a fruit of faith, when you have doubts about a decision, then going ahead with the decision is sin.

And let me just throw out a recommendation here for a book by Andrew Nacelle and J.D. Crowley called "Conscience," who tackles that kind of thing. Third observation. Remember that our peace and calm can be disturbed as we make a decision, not only by whether the decision is right or wrong, but our peace and calm can be disturbed by whether the decision will be costly or not.

So if you're about to make a decision to do something good for somebody, and your conscience is not disturbed that it might be wrong, but your heart is disturbed that it might be painful, do it. Lack of peace over possible danger and lack of peace over possible sinning are not the same.

Last observation. It is always right to be free from anxiety, if you can be. You should be. We are commanded not to be anxious about anything, Philippians 4.4. We will not arrive at this perfect state in this life. That's my view of sanctification. We should have perfect peace all the time.

We don't, and we won't. But we should fight for it, pray for it, aspire to it. But it should be something we lay hold on if we can, by faith. In fact, the closer we come to peaceful, cheerful, loving acts, even in the face of loss and pain, the more clearly the light of Christ's worth will shine through us.

Amen. And that's why we exist, to reflect the worth of Christ to the world, imaging, reflecting the perfect image. Thank you, Pastor John. Well over at our online home, you can explore all 1,250 of our episodes, scan a list of our most popular ones, read full transcripts, even send us a question of your own.

Go to desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn and to get new episodes delivered to you three times per week, you can subscribe to the Ask Pastor John podcast in your favorite podcast app. Well, we love to proclaim the truths of Christian hedonism, the idea that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

But how do we parent our kids to understand these precious truths at an age-appropriate level that they can understand? Grandfather John Piper will take a stab at what this would look like in family devotions today and he will help us understand what points a parent would want to emphasize in those conversations.

I've been looking forward to this topic and this episode for a really long time. We're finally going to tackle it on Wednesday. I'm your host Tony Reinke. We'll see you then. We'll see you then.