About a week ago I took my family on a camping trip. We loaded our van up with all the camping gear we needed for a family of six: tents, sleeping bags, food, and much more. We were on our way to the camp when the directions took us on this narrow gravel road. Oddly enough the key we had been given opened the green gate to get onto this path. We ended up on this narrow gravel road traversing up a mountain. I should have stopped and tried turning around or backing up much sooner, but I kept thinking this must be the way. As we made our way along the road bushes kept hitting the side of the car and rocks scraped against the bottom. Eventually, we got stuck on a steep incline that our mini-van loaded with kids and gear could not make it up.
I called a friend who had been to the camp to see if this was indeed the way and she told us no, we must be on the wrong road. After several attempts to get the van out, we prayed asked God for guidance and help. We finally were able to get the van out and backed down the treacherous mountain road.
When we finally got safely back to the main road and found the correct road, I thought to myself, why didn’t I call for guidance sooner? What I really needed when we made the wrong turn was someone who could see ahead and knew where the road was going.
That’s what we and our households need for our future. Someone who can see ahead.
The rest of your life is in your future. You don’t know what it’s going to be and you can’t control it. So each one of us should be interested in what God has to say about our future.
You can write this promise down: “God promises to guide my household.” One thing that you can predict about your household’s future is that there will be a lot of decisions to make. Some of those choices are difficult and even confusing. Should I marry this person? When should we have kids? Should we move? Should we buy this house? These are some giant life-changing decisions.
And we can get stuck in these decisions. On one hand we may try making a decision and plowing through, but how do we know it is the right one? We can ask our friends, but they’re just like us. There is one authority who is always right and always reliable and that is our Creator.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take
Every promise has a premise. The premise is if you trust the Lord with everything you are then he will show you the right way.
That brings up a question. If our future is incredibly valuable, why should I trust God with it? Think about it. He created you. He loves you. He knows everything about you. He gave his Son to die for you. If God did all of those things and cares that much about you why would he send you in a direction that is not the best for you.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to bless you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” He has a perspective about your household’s life and future that you desperately need. The only way to get God’s perspective is in his word. So seek his guidance in his word and prayer. Trust him and he will guide you.
