How to Trust God and Make Courageous Decisions

Who comes to your mind when you think of someone who makes courageous decisions?
Maybe it’s your Mother or Father. Or perhaps a different family member, a co-worker, a mentor, a teacher, or a friend.

What is it about them that stands out? Is it that they’re never afraid? Or maybe they just seem steady when things get hard? Or maybe is it something deeper? Perhaps the better question is this – what actually makes a decision courageous?

Is it confidence?
Is it certainty?
Or is it the willingness to move forward when neither is guaranteed?

Scripture paints a different picture of courage. It’s not the absence of fear – it’s choosing to trust God in the middle of uncertainty.

When I think of someone who makes courageous decisions, I think about my grandmother. She left her home in the Fiji Islands in search of a better life for her family after the death of my grandfather. She left behind her comfort, friends, family, job, and everything that she knew. But she didn’t just leave a place, she stepped away from everything she could rely on. She was stepping into a future where nothing was guaranteed, no clear outcome, no obvious path forward, and this was a huge risk not only for her, but her children too. She didn’t have certainty, but because of her trust in God she was able to make a courageous decision. And today I’m living in the impact of that decision. I have the privilege of being born and raised in the country of Canada. Looking back now, I can see that her decision didn’t just affect her, it shaped our whole family, and our future.

That’s what makes decisions of faith and trusting God so powerful, they don’t just stay with you. They have a way of carrying into other people’s lives, often in ways you don’t see right away. It makes me wonder: Who might be impacted by your decisions of faith and trusting God?

The Courage to Trust God

I believe the greatest kind of courage comes when we choose to trust God, even when we don’t know how things will turn out, or what the result will be. Real courage is making decisions by faith, not because we have every answer, but because we trust God and His plans.

Sometimes faith looks like taking a step before everything makes sense. It means choosing to follow God’s ways, even when you still have questions or things don’t make sense, and how we do this is By Faith.

By Faith We Lead

When we look at Scripture, we see this kind of courage lived out in the life of Moses. Moses wasn’t shaped into a leader by a title; he was shaped by the decisions he made along the way. He made courageous decisions by faith and trusting God long before anyone followed him. In Hebrews 11 we see that Moses’ decisions of faith and trusting God shaped not only his future, but the future of an entire nation.

1. Faith Chooses What Is Right Over What Is Easy

Hebrews 11:24-25 “ By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.”

Moses had what most people spend their lives trying to get – power, comfort, influence, and a secure future. And still, he walked away from it. This wasn’t a rushed decision; it was a deeply intentional one. Why? Because he believed what God had for him was greater. Hebrews goes further and tells us that Moses “considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.”- Hebrews 11:26. In other words, he decided based on what he valued the most, which was God. A good question to ask ourselves before making a decision is what do we value the most? Do we value God above all else? Are we “looking to the reward” like Moses?

Leadership begins when you choose:

• Obedience over comfort
• Truth over popularity
• God’s way over your own

Most of the time, these aren’t the public moments, they’re the quiet decisions that nobody else sees. It’s those times when you’re all by yourself, nobody is around, and it’s just up to you to make the decision. That is when trusting God and having courage is essential to making the right decision.

2. Faith Sees What Others Cannot See

“By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.” – Hebrews 11:27

This is where faith becomes real. Faith is not blind; it simply is seeing things through a different perspective. Where others saw risk, Moses saw purpose. Where others saw loss, he saw something that would last. He wasn’t ignoring reality, he was living with the lens of faith. Sometimes people think faith means ignoring facts or believing without reason. But biblical faith is not a denial of reality, it’s grounded in who God has shown Himself to be.

Think about your own life for a moment. Where have you seen God show up? Where have you seen his Faithfulness, His power, His goodness? It might help to actually write down moments like these. Because when a hard decision comes, you’ll have something to look back on, something that reminds you that God has been faithful before, and He will continue to be faithful in the future!

3. Living This Out

This is the kind of life Proverbs 3:5-6 calls us to live to; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Putting your trust in God with every decision is sometimes hard, so that is why we have a church because we need each other through every decision. One of the most practical ways we grow in faith is through community, being a part of a Life Group, Alpha Group, or serving on a team. Sometimes the step is small, but it still takes courage, and having other believers around us that also trust God helps encourage us.

Faith was never meant to be lived alone. Even Moses didn’t walk his journey by himself, he had people around him. I’m thankful for the people in my Life Group – they pray for me, encourage me, and honestly just being around them makes a difference in my life. This is why the church exists, not just a place to attend, but a community to belong to.

So what does trusting God and making courageous decisions look like in everyday life? It could be as simple as taking a step of faith today and – joining a Life Group, Leading an Alpha Group, or stepping up to serve!

I believe that there might be someone out there that has been waiting to give financially into what God is doing, I encourage you to trust God and make the decision with courage! He will never let you down!

So when you’re faced with a hard decision, when the path seems unclear, when you don’t know how things will work out, trust God, choose faith, and make that decision with courage! Just like my grandmother and Moses, you never know who’s life will be changed because of your courageous decision!

Let’s live By Faith, because we don’t just follow, we lead.