Perplexing Decisions

July 10, 2024

“The LORD will guide you always; 
         he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land 
         and will strengthen your frame. 
         You will be like a well-watered garden, 
         like a spring whose waters never fail.”
~ Isaiah 58:11 (NIV84)

I think we could effectively sort people into age groups with one simple question: ‘how many varieties of cereal were on the grocery shelf when you were ten years old?’

I certainly didn’t have a deprived childhood, but our cereal cupboard contained: Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, and Wheaties, and I don’t recall getting in on any cereal-purchasing decisions at the store. My own kids were occasionally granted cereal choosing privileges as if it were a rare genie wish. It’s just too confusing and consuming to choose between hundreds of boxes of different grains, flavors, sugar content and fun-factor. Our own big box store here in town has floor to ceiling boxes or bags on both sides of an aisle that seems to extend indefinitely. 

Cereal is on my mind, because, after not really buying or eating it for years, it seems to be the breakfast that sets with my palette lately. I’m hoping for a return to my normal peanut butter toast and coffee before ‘24 is over, but for now I feel a bit like a ten year-old again making my cereal choices and pouring my milk.

Maybe you’re not in the cereal world these days like me, but maybe you have real decisions to make. Maybe you get overwhelmed with decisions in life. Maybe you find yourself confused and consumed with too many options or perplexed with too few options. 

I was reminded recently of a verse that became very special to me over twenty years ago. I was soaking in the teaching at a Pastor’s Wives Retreat and our dear Kay Smith (wife of pastor Chuck Smith — both with the Lord) was teaching on Isaiah 58:11 (above). I don’t recall the weighty decisions I was facing (twenty years tends to make molehills out of those mountains), but I remember the Lord gently urging me to seek Him for guidance.

The first phrase of that verse says, “The LORD will guide you always…”, but it was the second phrase that helped me to grip and personalize the first, “...he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land…” That was and is my address in life, having been planted by the Lord in Ontario, Oregon. After all, it's projected to reach 109 degrees today and if that’s not sun-scorched, I’m not sure what is. Our environmental need for water is obvious and ongoing, so the remainder of the verse brings yet more comfort, “...you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” As a gardener, I know what it means to depend on irrigation, and as a Christian I also know what it means to depend on the Lord.

But, back to the first phrase — The Lord will guide you always! What a comfort to be able to rely on God to guide us in our perplexing decisions and to know that His guidance can be compared to a dependable and sustainable spring of water in a land where water doesn’t come easy, or at all, in July. 

So, what is your perplexity in life right now? I’m sure it’s much more serious than cereal choices. We face important, sometimes crucial decisions every day: education options for our kids, job decisions, elder care for our parents, relational decisions, staying or leaving decisions. Then there are the critical right-now decisions at a time of crisis when the next five minutes will affect the next five years. Don’t we want to have a verse like this in our mind? To know that The Lord will guide us always? It’s just a matter of asking.

Why do we not ask?  We may feel we should be smart enough to navigate our own path. We may feel God is disinterested in our day-to-day life. We may feel our current distance from God and realize we’re out of the habit of talking over such things. All of these erroneous thoughts can and should be captured and set right.

Now, just to be fair, the context of the entire chapter of Isaiah 58 is centered around God’s people walking in a sense of agreement with Him — representing His character in how they react and respond to the world and people around them. You might want to read the entire chapter. In fact you also might also want to read Psalm 36, which I think dovetails beautifully. But, the point of this short devotion is to remind you and me that God is waiting and willing to guide us in our tough decisions and that His guidance will feel to us like a life-giving spring of water in a hot, dry, barren spot in life.

I’ve had to make a few important decisions related to care-providers and treatment. I had no idea which way to go. As we say, they don’t teach you this in school. So, it blesses me so much when my husband grabs my hand and we simply pray together for God’s guidance. In the middle of a desert, He has been faithful to point us in the right direction and I know He will do the same for you in the middle of your sun-scorched land.

I have nine more stops on the chemo train! I’m getting closer to drinking coffee again and thinking it actually tastes good!  

My Love,

Sue

sue@ccontario.com