Do or Do Not...

I won't add the last bit because the geeks might get all giddy and such. I hope you are enjoying a fine evening wherever you may be. Where do we go when faced with a monumental decision? I believe that God wants me to go one way. The solution to a problem appears to be in another direction. How do I discern the voice of the Holy Spirit when surrounded by opportunity and pressure? I don't have all the answers to this. Sooner or later in life each of us will be faced with a decision where faith in God appears to offer nothing to hold in one direction, while the other direction appears that it may be God's provision. I only know that the way to wisdom lies through prayer and the word of God. Ask God for guidance, seek His face through the Word. I am giving this advice to myself this evening as much as to anyone else. Here is some help in this from the Proverbs. "Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take." (3:6 NLT) Good! I certainly need to be shown.

James 1:5 reminds us to ask God when we need wisdom. However, there is a responsibility with this wisdom. We are to believe and not doubt. I find that very difficult to do. Doubts fly at me from all directions it seems. I do not want to be the one James describes as double-minded. Above all, I want to do what the Lord would have me to do. Now, how to set about discerning the path I am to take. Do I try every door? What if I find more than one that opens? I realize that God will be with me wherever I go, but I want His best for me. I think that in all the flipping back and forth, the groaning and writhing, between two paths, that often the guidance is given, but we resist taking that step of faith. We know the answer, but we don't want to accept it. One way offers something concrete that we can hold and spend. The other offers only the promise that God will provide. Perhaps the only question is: How much do I trust God?

James 1:12 tells the story we need to hear. "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him." What is the test? To trust in God and, perhaps, turn away from something that the world seems to guarantee. What if the world gets mad and comes after me with everything it has? Well, the world and its evil prince will do that anyway. We have this from our Lord. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33 NIV) The choice to do or do not may seem unclear. The devil loves to obfuscate and befuddle the believer if he can, and in case you or I think that we are the only one, the devil has practiced this for a long time and he is really good at it. Take it up in prayer with the Holy Spirit as your Comforter and Guide. Come to the Shepherd, dear lost sheep for you won't know the way to go on your own.

Bucky