Psalm 33:11 - The counsel of the Lord stands
forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation.
I was on the way to visit a friend at his home. He was interested
in being involved in our ministry so I was eager to meet with him. I had never been to his home before but he gave me the address and I used by GPS to navigate my way there. However, when I arrived, I could not find the house. There were houses with
numbers higher and lower than the address he had given me, but that house number was missing. After driving up
and down the road a couple of times, I called him on his cell. We realized I
had gone to Stevens Street, when I was actually looking for Stephens Street.
The streets are pronounced the same way, but have a slightly different spelling.
They are on opposite sides of town. I would have never found the address on the
first street, because that address does not exist. We had a good laugh about it
when I finally got to the right place. What a difference those letters made!
That experience made me think about how important it is to
make sure we get our facts right before striking off on some task, journey or
line of thought. If we have a faulty premise, it will lead us the wrong
direction and we may never find what we are looking for. Even if the mistake is
subtle or if it sounds right but is not, if our faulty premise takes us in a
wrong direction, we will be frustrated and never may find what we are looking
for.
For example, if we are considering marriage, if we start out
thinking that if it does not work out, we can just get a divorce, that will
impact how we handle conflict in our relationship. Such thinking leads us to a
much different conclusion than we would come to if we went into it thinking we were
going to stick with out no matter what and trust God to make the relationship
what it should be.
If we are thinking about what college to go to, if we start
out thinking which school has the best recreational activities, we will end up
in a much different place than if we ask ourselves which school will best help us
gain the training we need to achieve our career goals.
Examples are numerous, but the point is clear. We need to
start off with right information and correct reasoning so we can head the right
direction in life. How do we find the right info? Do some research. Discuss the
issue with people who have already been there. Ask lots of questions. Most
importantly, read the Bible and pray for guidance! The Bible is still relevant
for today and God’s advice is always right. As we learn to trust in the Lord’s
advice, we will head in the right direction in life.
Lord, help us listen to Your advice and follow Your
directions. Amen.
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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr.
Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational
leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a
happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a
cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully
through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of
his books at:
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