GUIDANCE

Why is it important to seek God's guidance when I'm making decisions?

God's Response
[Mary] was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her finance, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angle of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit".
Matthew 1:18-20

Our Takeaway
Perhaps Joesph thought he had only two options: either divorce Mary quietly or see her stoned, according to God's law regarding sexual immorality. But God gave him a third option, one that had not occurred to Joseph: go ahead with the marriage.

God often shows us that there are more options available than we might think of on our own. Although Joseph seemed to be doing the right thing by breaking the engagement, only God's guidance helped him to make the best decision.

God's Promise
My child, listen to what i say, and treasure my commands... Then you will understand what is right, just and fair and you will find the right way to go.
Proverbs 2:1, 2:9

Big T's Though To Ponder
During the toughest times I ever saw in business, I was requested by appointment to come into the bank and explain our financial downward spiral. I was fearful of the unknown, but confident in what the Holy Spirit had told me - "Just be transparent and wait on Me".

The bank said, "your financials are of serious concern to us" (you're insolvent more or less), "what is your plan to pay us back"? I said that, "well we are doing a lot of praying each and every day and waiting on the Lord".

You see, by worldly standards our praying was of no comfort to the bankers and it really didn't even make good business sense. My worldly options were, bankruptcy and a reorganization, or shut the doors, neither of which sounded very pleasant.

We also had a third option - obedience! We made the choice as a company to wait on the Lord and listen, allowing God to guide us through the rough waters; holding every thought the Holy Spirit gave us captive. We have been profitable for the last consecutive 12 months - God is good and He is our compass.
James 1:5-6; II Corinthians 10:5