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About the Episode
In this episode of the Hope + Help Podcast, host Christine Chappell interviews Michael Gembola about his book, Anxious About Decisions: Finding Freedom in the Peace of God. Some of the questions addressed in this interview are:
• What makes decision making “an arena for spiritual formation”?
• What role does risk play when it comes to making decisions?
• What are four counterproductive practices someone might engage in when experiencing decision-related anxiety?
• How do “mystical” and “magical” views of God’s guidance serve to stoke decision anxiety?
• In what ways might culture and family upbringing influence our approaches to decision making?
• What might it look like to exercise the skill of decision-making when we find ourselves “sweating the small stuff?”
• What are some practical next steps a person could take if they find themselves battling decision anxiety?
About the Guest
Michael Gembola, MAR, MAC, is an ordained minister and licensed professional counselor. He serves as executive director of Blue Ridge Christian Counseling in southwest VA and has taught counseling as an adjunct professor at several seminaries. He is the author of After an Affair: Pursuing Restoration, Anxious about Decisions, and several articles on counseling. He and his wife, Kelly, live in Roanoke, VA with their two sons and daughter.
About the Book
Anxious About Decisions: Finding Freedom in the Peace of God
Do you get anxious when you have to make a decision? Do you overthink, overtalk, and overanalyze? When anxiety surrounds every decision, the result can be decision-making paralysis. Counselor Michael Gembola explores this common struggle and then points to the peace that comes from knowing God as your refuge and ever present help in trouble. Learning to trust God, even when the path is not clear, will give you courage to move forward one step at a time.
When you’re faced with decisions both big and small, God offers you something better than certainty and the absence of risk. He promises to be with you. And when you allow the Good Shepherd to lead, you will find that he uses times of decision-making to make you more peaceful and become a better steward of the opportunities in front of you.
Anxious About Decisions will help you learn to approach decisions more confidently with a conscience shaped by God’s Word and values shaped by God’s heart. Learn to undertake decisions in the context of the community of believers and your identity as God’s child.
About the Podcast
The Hope + Help Podcast offers interviews with seasoned biblical counseling professionals and ministry leaders on a variety of topics regarding life’s challenging problems. Hosted by IBCD Outreach Director Christine M. Chappell. Listeners can subscribe on major streaming platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, & iHeart.
