Rev Canon Dr Rob Marshall - 12/09/2026

Available for over a year

How do you make a decision when you can’t be certain what will happen? That’s the question at the heart of Pressure, the new film released this week, which I saw at my local cinema. It’s about the extraordinary hours leading up to D-Day. Andrew Scott puts in a superb performance as James Stagg, the Scottish meteorologist whose forecast of approaching storms forced General Eisenhower to delay the D-Day invasion. Eisenhower knew that the wrong decision could cost thousands of lives. Few of us will ever face making a decision on anything like that scale, but we all have to make important choices without being certain that we are, in fact, doing the right thing. Whether it’s changing jobs, moving home or acting on behalf of a loved one, the pressure can indeed be enormous. The Danish philosopher Kierkegaard observed that “life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards”. 1 Of course, we would love to know how things will work out in advance of any decision that has to be made, but life rarely affords us that luxury. It’s true that faith can have a role to play here, and many find prayer, scripture and a basic belief in God a great help when wrestling with life’s big decisions. Indeed, in the movie, Eisenhower suggests that having made all the preparations, they should pray for good weather and, without spoiling the movie, there is a scene in church when one of my favourite rousing hymns is sung, while Stagg stands outside.2 For me, it was a powerful moment: faith has its place, alongside a recognition that for all our knowledge and preparation, there are things beyond our control. Absolute certainty is so often illusory. This reminded me of the bible story where young King Solomon inherits the throne of his father David and, in a dream, God asks him what he wants. The new king doesn’t ask for wealth or for a long life. Instead, he simply asks for the ability to make the right decisions into the future. He prays not for certainty, but for wisdom.3 So, when I next have to make a big decision, perhaps I’ll remind myself that certainty is not a condition of responsible action. What’s really required is a combination of courage and wisdom. As the New Testament letter of St James puts it, “you do not know what tomorrow will bring”. 4 But tomorrow still has to be faced and today’s decisions still have to be made.