“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”  — Deuteronomy 30:19-20

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”  — Matthew 6:33

Like a recurring dream, there is one choice in life that is presented to us over and over again. You have probably made this choice at least once today. You made a choice when you woke up and decided whether to thank God for the day or simply begin your routine. It came up again when there was an opportunity to help a coworker or a schoolmate, but it was out of your way. That recurring choice is the decision to put God first or to please ourselves, but it’s a false dichotomy: Jesus said (in Matthew 6:33) that if we put God first, the things that are beneficial to us will fall into place. He actually said they would be “added unto” us. We don’t have to chase after them, because God is the one who adds to our lives — not us. When we chase after God, we’ll find that He takes care of the things we would have been chasing anyway.

We all have to make this choice repeatedly. Maybe this time it’s a job or a relationship. Maybe you’re dealing with academic decisions or family issues. Or maybe your choice is too personal for me to enumerate. But regardless of the specific situation, the principle of putting God first holds firm.

There’s a good example of working from principles in the field of aviation. If you were to read an airplane manual or an instruction book for flying a plane, without actually flying one, you might be left with the impression that the important part of flying is the details. There’s the trim, the flaps, the fuel mixture, calibrating the instruments, adjusting the propeller angle… there are a lot of parameters that will affect your flight. But an instructor will leave out those details while you’re learning and will have you focus on a few simple principles. Pull back to pitch up and push forward to pitch down. Left and right tilt the plane in that direction. Point the nose toward wherever it is you want to go. Many forces can work on the craft to affect the outcome, but as long as you continue to follow those principles it will work itself out.

So it is with life. There are billions of unique situations — everyone on earth is dealing with life from a slightly different perspective. But without knowing anything specific, we could still say with confidence that the most important decision is to put God first. Our challenge today? Seek first the Kingdom.

Well, an army is a complicated system. Every officer must answer to another, higher-ranking officer. Battles are confusing and a disjointed. Many men end up killing their own comrades without even realizing it. Some battles become outright massacres if the officers do not coordinate properly. Spiritually, if we do not keep our lives straight we will be in danger of a massacre: total destruction at the hands of our enemies. God has a place for us in His army to destroy those enemies instead, and guide us through our problems. He wants us to join with Him in the fight against our foes.

If we will only put our trust in God, He will guide us through the battle. When we cooperate with Him like a soldier cooperates with their superiors, we are in the undefeatable fortress of God. [Clearly this requires, well, cooperation.  -Ed.] I need to be aware of my mental, emotional, or even physical enemies so He can direct me. If I don’t follow directions, my day is not going to be easy. That’s not to say that following directions is always easy — it’s difficult for many people — but He’s still our superior. And maybe we’ll mess up from time to time because we’re not perfect, but that’s why we have a God to catch us if we fall. Psalms 119:105 says that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. This means that God will direct us where we need to go: all we need to do is follow.

A faithful soldier who communicates with his superiors is far preferable in the eyes of a general to a “lone wolf”, whose unguided attacks may hinder his own comrades. Likewise, if we are spiritually active but not in agreement with God, we may do more harm than good. Victory over our personal enemies — whatever they may be — is dependent on our unity with God.

More than once I have been completely lost and pulled over to ask for directions. Once when I was especially lost on my way to an event, I pulled over for the second time to ask for directions. Due to the stress of being lost and late, my first attempt to ask for directions had led me down a dead end. Imagine my relief at finding a police officer on his lunch break inside the fast food restaurant! With his directions, I was at my destination within 10 minutes. My crowning achievement was navigating through the tunnels and one way streets of Boston several weeks ago. Though we made a couple wrong turns along the way, we found our destination on time. What a thrill!

Life seems to mimic my road trips. I think I have it all figured out, that I know my way to where I want to go, and I’m determined to get there single-handedly. Sometimes I get turned around. Still I try to muscle through it myself, thinking that I can find my own way even after my directions have proven inaccurate. Sometimes I ask for help from a faulty source of information and end up farther from my goal. But God has something better in mind for me. I don’t have to wander the road of life lost and confused. There are divine directions, more reliable than my trusty Internet map sites can hope to be.

You don’t have to look far to find the spiritual equivalent of a police man, with directions and advice you know you can trust.  A few times I got to use a friend’s GPS device. How easy! I don’t need to figure anything out or call for help, I just need to listen. It tells me when to turn, even what lane of the highway I should be in to make that turn. And if a happen to miss my exit? That reassuring voice comes back on, saying “Recalculating route.” Isn’t that wonderful? Even if I mess up, it redirects me back to the right path. That is what God wants to do. If I listen, there is the still small voice of God, directing me to my final destination, and to many good things along the way.

Jesus is exactly like our GPS. But instead of us being in control, our Lord and Savior is. David wrote in Psalms 27:12 “Teach me your way, oh Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.” Just like David asked Jesus to guide his path in every area of life, we need to make the same request. It doesn’t matter if that way is finances, relationships, a career, or teaching a Sunday school lesson. Jesus wants us to rely completely on Him, because He has every direction mapped out already. Unlike a GPS or map, Jesus has every road, every intersection, and every new road in your life laid out.

“Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.”  – Psalm 77:19-20

We can’t always see where were going. I know from experience that you can’t always find your way on your own! This is one of the reasons Jesus put pastors, elders, etc. in our lives so that we could gain their wisdom. Just like us, they had to submit to God’s GPS. As a result, they probably know more about the situation we’re facing than we do. As much as we know, there is always someone else more knowledgeable. And of course, Jesus knows all!

How many times do we confuse the right way with our own decisions and desires? This is why this is why Psalms 37:4 says “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” With God’s GPS we can’t let our own desires and wants get in the way. We need to set them aside and let God guide us all the way. In the end, like it says in that verse, “He will give you the desires of your heart.” I know I want that and I’m sure you do too! Consider yourself challenged to let go of your own wants, needs, and desires and let God take complete control. Let Jesus be your GPS. In the end, I guarantee it, you’ll be much better off. Do it! Don’t talk or contemplate it, because then it won’t end up happening. Go and do it!

Maybe you already have some experience in letting God direct your life. What methods does He use to do that? How do you make sure that you aren’t taking control again? Encourage someone in the comments section by sharing an example of God’s dependability — better than any map or human technology!

You can pick up the gist of the story in Numbers 22:21-33. Balaam knew who God was and worshipped Him, but apparently he had a weakness. One translation says that he “fell in love with money” and so he agreed to go against God by cursing the nation of Israel. But as he rode to the meeting place, Balaam’s donkey was given the ability to see angels. Since the animal possessed more common sense than its master — as well as a powerful sense of self-preservation — it turned aside. That resulted in a beating, but again the donkey saw an angel with a flaming sword and wisely turned aside. Another beating, another turning aside, and finally Balaam has had it. He savagely beat the animal — and then the donkey began to talk.

“What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” it asked. Balaam gives an unexpected answer: “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” Wait a minute, Balaam. You know who God is and claimed to serve Him. You gave up your integrity for gold and silver. You’re on your way right now to defy the Living God, and your donkey is acting more intelligent than you. Did the animal make you look foolish, or did you make yourself a fool?

The angel explained the donkey’s behavior to Balaam and then said something very interesting: “The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her.” The donkey would have been spared even if she had gone straight ahead. It was an act of kindness even to turn away. Though the animal couldn’t talk at that point, the message was clear: don’t go this way! There’s a problem. What you’re doing is dangerous. Stop. But Balaam wanted to be in control, so instead of acknowledging his mistake, he stood there and blamed someone else for his own inability to see.

Too often we are like Balaam. We want to be the sole controller of our lives. We no longer respond to God, having become blind to His word, so He sends guides to help us: friends, youth leaders, pastors, and church elders. They try to help us and direct us to the right path or steer us off of the wrong one. It’s possible that they’re just trying to control your life, but usually they see something you and I don’t. To our shame we can often be found accusing them with similar words, “You have made a fool of me! Why do you criticize every decision I make?”

The truth is that no one made you a fool, so now there’s a tough question to ask yourself: did your counsellors make you look foolish, or did you make yourself a fool by ignoring their wise, well-intentioned advice? The quickest way to look like a fool is to stand there and blame someone else for our own inability to see.

What role have role models and authority figures played in your life? Have you found them to be acting in your best interest, or is it better for you to control everything since you know best? It might be good to consider that question a while before leaving your answer as a comment . . .

It reminds me of the story of Gideon, a judge of Israel. After an angel appeared to him and foretold the victory God had in mind, Gideon asked for a sign. First he laid out a fleece and asked for the fleece to have dew on it in the morning, but for the ground around it to be dry. The next morning, the fleece was wet and the ground was dry. Then Gideon asked for the situation to be reversed. Again God answered: the fleece was dry and the ground was wet with dew. He didn’t ask for another sign.

Perhaps Gideon doesn’t seem to be a great man of faith just yet. After all, it took an angel and two miracles for him to believe. He is not the picture of confidence and valor that people look for in a leader. But God had chosen him, and now God showed his own confidence: “Gideon! Your army is too big! If you win a battle with this army, Israel won’t accept that it was My doing. Tell all the fearful men to go home.” The army of 32,000 shrank to 10,000 after that announcement. God spoke again: “Your army is still too big — go to the water and have the men drink. Let only the watchful men stay.” Gideon was left with 300 men.

If you’ve heard this story before, you probably think I’m going to say that God told Gideon to equip the men with trumpets and pitchers and lamps and go out to battle with that odd assortment of weapons. But there’s a problem: God didn’t tell Gideon what to do after that, other than to go fight the Midianites. Gideon was in serious need of direction.

So who came up with the battle plan? Who decided that trumpets and lamps were the weapons of a victorious army? Apparently Gideon did. After setting him on the right path, God left the method of victory up to Gideon. He made a choice . . . and God stepped in to back him up. It was Gideon’s plan, but God’s victory.

I’ve often wondered if I would have the guts to make a choice like that. It seems like there are so many ways to make a wrong choice. But the story of Gideon helps me realize that if God has trusted me with a choice and my heart is in the right place, I will always make the right choice because He will back it up.