Proper Consultation

Have you ever been in a situation where the choice before you made sense? It looked like the right thing to do, so you did it only to find out later what a big, whopping mistake it was? Because the decision seemed so clear, you didn’t seek God’s wisdom or direction. Or if you did seek God, it was through a brief, “God stop me if this isn’t your will” prayer. I wish I could say that I was above this type of action. But alas, in my humanity I have found myself in this situation many times in the past. I remember a time in my life when Kerri and I had just moved to a new town. We became active in a church there, helping out however we could. I volunteered in the children’s ministry to help out with the children’s church on Sunday mornings. After several months there, the pastor approached me about becoming the main worship leader for the Sunday worship time. It seemed to make sense. After all, I was already there. What a mistake that was! The six months I led worship there were the most agonizing and painful church experience of my life. I eventually resigned. It took me some time to recover from this experience. Joshua found himself in a similar situation. After leading the Israelites into the Promised Land and defeating several nations, Joshua was approached by ambassadors “from a distant land” who wished to make a peace treaty with Israel. In reality, the Gibeonites, who were not more than 15 miles from the Israelites camp at Gilgal, were afraid of Israel because of what the Israelites had done to the other surrounding nations. They wanted to deceive Israel into making a peace treaty. To pull off the deception, the Gibeonites brought with them weathered saddlebags, patched wineskins, worn out and ragged clothes, and moldy bread. These items all gave the appearance of a long journey. That coupled with the testimony of the men, “worn out from our very long journey,” obviously made sense to Joshua and the Israelites. Joshua 9:14-15 says, “So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.” Wow. How could they be so stupid? Wait…how can WE be so stupid! Joshua was willing to trust his own judgment instead of seeking the Lord for the truth in this situation. How often are we guilty of the same thing? When faced with a decision, we look to our own understanding and insight and make a decision without consulting the Lord. Our impatience gets the best of us and we move before God desires. We settle for the mediocre when God wants to give us the best. May this passage in Joshua be a reminder and an encouragement to consult the Lord. He has the wisdom, omniscience and love to guide us into abundant living. “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” James 1:5