Standing at a crossroad

Many times in my live I have found myself standing at a crossroad with multiple roads in front of me leading in different directions.

Each one offering an option for me to take and door I can step through leading to an end I cannot yet see.

And in those moments of uncertainty when I feel overwhelmed about which road I should go I make a huge mistake: I run as fast I can to get advice from important people in my life: my mentor, my sister, my friends, or my father.

This may seem to not make any sense.

Isn’t it wise to run to people for advice when you find yourself at a crossroad or dead end or a situation you don’t know how to handle?

Yes.

But only after you first run to God.

All of these years I’ve had it backwards.

Instead of running to the throne of God I’ve been running to the phone to talk to the first person I think of to get their opinion for my life before I come to God and seek His counsel.

One man in the Bible that really shows how it ought to be done is Hezekiah.

In 2 Kings 19 Hezekiah receives bad news from a messenger about how God would not deliver his kingdom from the battle and fall that was about to take place.

When he hears this, what is his reaction?

It’s not to call up the prophet, the commander in chief, or his best friend to cry on their shoulders and have them tell him what to do.

No. He runs to God.

Lays it all before the throne and spills what is on his heart.

And what does God do? He hears and answers his cry and delivers his people.

Then there is Paul who had just gotten a revelation from God of who He was and that he would spread the gospel to the gentiles (Galatians 1:16-17).

What was his first response?

To run to the disciples and get their advice on what steps to take next?

Run to his mentor, Gamaliel to help him figure out what God had called him to do with his life?

No. He went away to Arabia and Damascus for three years to consult not humans but the One who had brought Him to his current place in life: God.

And only then did he get the right guidance and training for his future not from mere people, but from Almighty God Himself.

There are many more stories in the Bible of men and women of God who ran to God first and were blessed because of it.

But there are also many stories of the opposite.

Did David consult God before he decided to write the letter to his officer in the army to put Bathsheba’s husband in the front lines during the battle so that he would die in order to cover up his sin? I doubt it. (2 Samuel 11)

Did Abraham consult God before he obeyed Sara and slept with Hagar in order to have a son, not God’s way, but his way? I don’t think so. (Genesis 16)

Did Joshua consult God before he signed a treaty to protect a city that he should have destroyed on the way to the Promised Land? Nope. (Joshua 9)

And because they chose to not run to the throne first they had to pay the consequences for the actions they took without God’s approval.

Should you go to your pastor, your mentor, your friend for counsel? Of course!

The Bible says that there is safety in the multitude of counselors (Proverbs 11:14), we ought to follow the good advice of our father’s and mother’s (Proverbs 6:20-23), and a person is foolish if he never seeks wise counsel from others (Proverbs 12:15).

BUT… before you run to people for counsel, remember to run to the Perfect Counselor Himself first: God.

Lay your concerns, your desires, your plans before Him and allow Him to be the One to guide you in your next step.

And isn’t He the best person to run to anyway? After all, only He knows the path you should take next.

I love this quote that I read recently:

“Good ending come from prayerful beginning’s”

Don’t we all want a good ending?

That after we have already chosen which road to walk on and we reach the end of the road we can look back and say “Wow, that was one of the wisest choices I have made”

To get that good ending we must do what Hezekiah did: run to God first and to people second and do what God tells us to do.

And when we obey God then we will reap what we sow, which is His providence and His blessing.

When trouble comes your way or you find yourself at a crossroad not knowing which road to take next remember that you need to run to the throne to talk to God before you run to the phone to talk to people.

And who knows, maybe after you talk to God you won’t even need to run to the phone anymore.

Never make any decisions in your life, especially important one’s without consulting God first. Let Him be the One you run to in time of need and guidance.

He’ll be the Good Shepherd that will lead you on the path that’s best.

Be blessed and choose your paths carefully with God! Anna… ♥

“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” –Proverbs 3:6