Several years ago W.W.J.D. took over pop culture. If you didn’t have a bracelet, shirt or hat with it on it, you were not with it. Everyone was asking what would Jesus do to help guide them. That was great, but how often do we ask Him what we should do? I’m pretty good at asking him for direction on big decisions, but not so good at asking Him about smaller ones. Also, I tend to make my own decisions when the answer looks obvious to me, but truthfully, we should be seeking His advice and direction in all aspects of our life, even the ones that seem obvious.
In Joshua 9, the word about Israel defeating Jericho was spreading. Some kings who lived nearby knew that Israel was going to take over the whole land, so they devised a plan to trick them. They sent a group of people with dry, moldy bread, wine skins that had burst and worn out clothes to seek a peace agreement. Verse 14 says, “So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord” (NLT). The answer seemed obvious so they didn’t seek God for direction. They agreed to the treaty only to find out a few days later that they lived in the Promised Land. They entered a peace treaty with someone they were told to destroy all because they relied on their own understanding instead of God’s.
Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord completely, and do not rely on your own opinions. With all your heart rely on him to guide you, and he will lead you in every decision you make” (TPT). When we rely on our own understanding, we’re not seeing the whole picture. It may seem obvious to us, but we need to rely on God to guide us, especially in seemingly small decisions. When you make the right decisions in small things, you prevent big problems down the road. God is available to guide us in every area of our life and in every decision we make. It’s up to us to take the time to seek His advice on what we should do.
Thanks to Soroush Karimi @soroushkarimi for making this photo available freely on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 