I KNOW BEST?
30th Apr 2014
“I know best” is never a good idea, especially when you have the availability of superior information and wisdom, but choose not to use it!
Joshua made a costly mistake when he failed to ask God about the Gibeonites. Joshua 9 gives the account of a group of travellers, dressed in ragged clothes, carrying stale bread, who asked for protection and covenant rights. Verse 14 says, “The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they did not ask God about it.”
Consequently, they discovered that they had entered into a covenant with a tribe they should have destroyed. We may be amazed that Joshua made such an elementary mistake, but what about our actions in everyday life?
When making business decisions, perhaps interviewing a candidate for a position in your company - do you ask God who the right candidate should be, or select on paper qualifications or some modern psychological test?
When in the ordinary decisions of daily life you feel uneasy about something, do you ask God why you feel like this, and what does He think about it?
The Holy Spirit is described as our guide; He will guide us into all truth. A guide is one who knows the terrain and can therefore avoid the potholes. He wants to guide you in every area of life. It doesn’t take a second to refer the situation to “the boss” and for peace or lack of it to inform your decision making.
If you make this your “way of life” in the small things, major challenges will be so much easier to negotiate. Joshua’s mistake is very difficult to understand because he had willingly followed the strategy for taking Jericho as he knelt before the angel of the Lord and asked, “What orders does my Master have for his servant?” (Joshua 5:35)
Don’t let knee jerk reactions and rash decisions rob you of the wisdom that God so much wants to give you.
by Joyce Sibthorpe
