God's Guidance

I remember going on one of my dates with Anne the summer before we got married. I took her to a steep bluff (I call it "Half Peak") along the Mississippi River.  It was a very hot day and the woods instead of being cool were hot and humid.  The horse flies were biting through my socks (had scars for a year) and the climb was getting harder by the minute.  I wondered if Anne was having second thoughts about a man who would take her on a date like this.  Was it an adventure or more accurately, "labor of love" for Anne?  Nearing the top, it was so steep that we literally had to crawl to make headway.  The only bright spot for our efforts was a beautiful view and a cool breeze.  Many times in relationships, the best of laid plans seem to fall way short of what was hoped for.  We take our loved ones in the direction that we think will prove right, and what follows is less than glorious.  We then ask ourselves, did I misunderstand God in his leading?  Was I not really listening to what he was saying?  Did I really want this so badly that I believed that God was leading me in this direction? 

Anne has always had the philosophy when buying something of expense, that it is good to wait at least one day before purchasing it.  After being married for only a short time, I asked her why she did this since it was obvious to me that it might not be there tomorrow and it seemed like a good buy.  Her answer as it turned out was sound and I have found that it applies to so many things in life.

“I wait because right now my desires tells me to buy this item.  I am afraid that because of this, I might be impulse buying and not purchasing it out of need and necessity.  If I wait until at least tomorrow, it will give me time to think it through and make a wise choice by weighing the pros and cons of my purchase.”  Her wisdom has been a building block for many of our decisions since. 

I have found that this applies to everything from major purchases to a plethora of decisions that I have made over the years.  Do I always make wise choices, no.  Have I always prayed through something and waited on the Lord for his answer, again the answer is no.  
"I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. In all my ways I acknowledge Him and He directs my paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

But the times that I have, God has led me in such a way that I can see when looking back, that his course was best.  Is it to say that “my” choices were bad? Again no.  But after looking back at what could have been, I saw that if I had waited on the Lord and listened to him through his word and gentle quiet voice speaking to me through his Holy Spirit, that it could have been a so much better way to go. 

"I shall hear a word behind me, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever I turn to the right or the left. (Isaiah 30:21)

Can God redeem “my” less than perfect choices?  Yes he can.  But many times I would not have had to, “Go around the desert one more time” like the headstrong children of God fleeing from the Pharaoh, if I had taken the time to listen to God first before making my decision.  I am finding that God’s direction sometimes requires patience on my part.  That too he can supply for me when I ask this of him.  God is patient with me and he waits for his child to seek him out, I just need to bend a knee to God and look away from my distractions long enough to find his perfect will.

"I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. In all my ways I acknowledge Him and He directs my paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)