CSS Hunley was a submarine used in the 1800s. (Yes, you read that correctly!) It was named after its inventor, Horace Lawson Hunley (ironically, he died in the test dives). The submarine became famous not only for being the first submarine in history to attack a warship but for its self-destruction after bringing down the enemy ship. On February 17, 1864, the Hunley was under the cover of darkness when it attacked a sixteen-gun warship, USS Housatonic, off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina.
After the attack the Hunley was never seen again. What happened on that fateful night was not discovered until more than 130 years later when, in the year 2000, the Hunley was rescued from the depths of the sea by archaeologists. After Duke University conducted a study on the Hunley, it was determined that the submarine, with all of its ingenuity and promise, had self-destructed from its own torpedo detonation that night. The Hunley sank not only the Housatonic but also itself!
Understanding Decision-Making Cripplers
The Hunley represents a vivid picture of the kind of self-destruction we can inflict when facing decisions. With the best of intentions we muster up the gusto to take on a goal, only to sink in the process. Whether it’s through paralysis by analysis, procrastination, perfectionism, shame, or fear, we can be our own worst enemies in the process of making decisions. But God has provided us with ways to confront these decision-making cripplers so they do not derail us or define us. Three particular steps can be taken to put cripplers in their place.
Confronting Decision-Making Cripplers with God’s Help
First, confess.
We seldom address what we don’t first admit. Confession is the acknowledgment that you have a sin issue with decision-making and that your feelings are driving your decisions, rather than what you know. Confess any specific crippler holding you back from making confident, well-informed, God-honoring decisions.
Second, connect.
Connecting begins with God, and it happens through prayer and time spent in his Word. Prayer is our power source when addressing weaknesses and patterns of sin, and the Bible is our compass, pointing us toward the right direction. I want to lovingly urge you to consider what connecting with God through prayer truly means: Prayer is not a rehearsal of how bad and broken you are again and again; it involves confession of sin, but it also moves you to seek strength, wisdom, direction, and peace from the Lord. Most of all, it will include walking in his grace. Ask him for help, don’t just tell him you’re helpless. And remember, use the Bible as your foundation for connecting with God. It will keep your feet firmly rooted in the truth.
Third, correct.
What good is information if it doesn’t lead to transformation? Confess your cripplers as sin, connect with God through prayer and Scripture, then take action to correct your behavior by getting to the heart of the issue. One of the aspects of correction that I enjoy, even though it can be daunting, is getting a trusted friend involved so you can be accountable and be encouraged. Nobody can see their own blind spots—hence the term! I have a few friends I share just about everything with.
My wife knows me as nobody else does, and I do talk with her about areas I need to grow in, but I have a few trusted brothers who are strong, godly, and appropriately invasive when it comes to areas of weakness and growth in my life. If I am needing to correct something in my life, not only do I make a plan to grow but I get a trusted brother involved in that plan. My encouragement and challenge to you is not to be an island when it comes to decision-making. Seek counsel and correction. If you have patterns that revolve around the cripplers we’ve talked about, God has given you the gift of his church to strengthen you in ways you may have never imagined.
