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SHOULD I INVITE MY NEIGHBORS OVER FOR DINNER? IS IT TIME TO FIND ANOTHER JOB? WHERE SHOULD I SEND MY KIDS TO SCHOOL? HOW AM I TO ARRANGE CARE FOR MY AGING PARENTS?
RESEARCHERS ESTIMATE THAT WE MAKE 35,000 "REMOTELY CONSCIOUS" DECISIONS EVERY DAY. HOW ARE WE TO NAVIGATE DECISION-MAKING?
JEREMIAH CHAPTER 6, VERSE 16 OFFERS SOME SUPER-PRACTICAL GUIDANCE. "STAND AT THE CROSSROADS AND LOOK; "ASK FOR THE ANCIENT PATHS, ASK WHERE THE GOOD WAY IS "AND THEN WALK IN IT, AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS."
THE PROPHET JEREMIAH ADDRESSED WAYWARD JUDAH, WARNING THEM TO RETURN THEIR FOCUS TO GOD. HE OFFERED CLEAR GUIDANCE: PAUSE AT DECISION-MAKING JUNCTURES TO REVIEW GOD'S WORK WHILE ALSO LOOKING OUT AT WHAT HE MIGHT DO NEXT.
I PICTURE MYSELF AT A RURAL CROSSROADS, STRAINING TO MAKE OUT GOD'S LEADING. GOD'S WORDS FROM JEREMIAH SEEP INTO MY THINKING, AND THE CLARITY I LONG FOR TAKES SHAPE. I STAND AND LOOK, PAUSING TO TAKE THE OPTIONS IN. I ASK FOR THE ANCIENT PATHS AND THE GOOD WAY. WHAT HAS GOD ALREADY REVEALED TO ME ABOUT HIMSELF, ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO FOLLOW HIS LEADING? AND THEN I WALK IN THAT WAY AND FIND REST AND COMFORT AS I TRUST GOD TO CONTINUE TO GUIDE.
AT LEAST, THIS IS THE GOAL. IT'S NOT A PERFECT FORMULA FOR DECISION-MAKING. AFTER ALL, JESUS IS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS PERFECTLY "WALKED THE PATH." BUT THE GRACE OF JESUS AND JEREMIAH'S WISDOM CAN TAKE US FORWARD TO THE NEXT STEP AND THE NEXT ONE IN MOMENTS WHEN THE WAY DOESN'T SEEM CLEAR.
WHAT DECISIONS ARE YOU FACING TODAY? HOW CAN JEREMIAH'S WISDOM GUIDE YOU FORWARD?