Have you ever come across a split in life’s road where you aren’t sure which path to follow?  Maybe it involved changing jobs or moving to a new town, or it could be a time when you are considering moving to a different church.  It could even be when you are facing a temptation; should you go back to the old way of living?

I think we have all had this kind of experience; what did you do?  Did you follow the right path, or did you follow the wrong one?  If you’re anything like me, you’ve done both.

There is a principle that can help at these times of indecision.  The principle is that we should try to do the thing or make the choice that will best advance the will and purposes of God, rather than our will or purposes.  Oh, I know that this isn’t always an easy decision to make, because often our purposes and God’s purposes don’t quite line up together.  Yet whenever I’ve followed my own purposes instead of God’s, I’ve come to grief sooner or later; how about you?

These incidents remind me of a passage from Joshua 24 when the people of Israel faced a major turning point when they were renewing their covenant with God; follow God or go back to the old way.  Joshua made a stark contrast and a bold statement for them to consider:

 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness.Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.  But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:14-15

As we remain steadfast in our faith and steadfast in our service to the Lord, our choices are often made easier because we will follow His path and leave our own.  Yes, the choice might be easier, but the path is sometimes harder, but our Lord will never leave us alone to fend for ourselves; He will sustain us as we go.