Making Decisions

I stopped my car on the white “V” where two major highways merged outside of Chicago. While traffic roared by on both sides, I stared at the sign above the busy tollway. Do I go right or left? To my nervous brain, the sign seemed nothing but gobbledygook.

Since leaving home that morning, I struggled with worry about driving alone to a writers’ conference in Wheaton IL. What if I took a wrong turn and wound up hopelessly lost in downtown Chicago?

To avoid the problem, I tried picking up Highway 45 near Kenosha, Wisconsin. However, as I entered Illinois, 45 turned into a country road with few signs to guide me. Coming to a gas station in the dense woods, I stopped for directions. A kindly woman behind the counter told me I was on target but couldn’t get to Wheaton without taking the tollway. “When you come to it, keep to the left,” she emphasized.

Did she really know what she was talking about? Gritting my teeth and sending up a prayer, I entered the traffic to the left. Thirty minutes later, I arrived safely at my destination.

We’re often faced with decisions that might sweep us into untold trouble or take us safely to our destination. When we’re not sure which way to go or what is best for us, who do we rely on?

Early Christian believers relied on their rabbi (teacher), Jesus. What they learned from him, they told to everyone who would listen. They later wrote these things down for us. Among other things, they taught that God’s Word is truth (John 17:7), that Jesus is truth (John 14:6), and that the Holy Spirit is truth (John 16:18).

When faced with decisions, we sometimes wonder, “Can I really trust God and his Word to guide me? If I ask him, will he show me what is best for me?”

God’s children down through the ages have learned from experience that the answer to those questions is “yes.”

Focus: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go” ~ Isaiah 48:17, New International Version.

How about you? When faced with decisions, who do you trust to guide you?