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Daily Devotions

Decision-making Without the Lord

By March 12, 2014No Comments

Read Joshua 9 – 11

And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. Joshua 9:22-23 KJV

Joshua and the leaders of Israel were deceived by the Gibeonites. It was upsetting, just as it is for us when we fall prey to deception. However, the disguises of the Gibeonites were not that good. Joshua, and the others with him, was deceived for one reason: they based their decision on appearance without consulting the Lord. How often that also gets us into trouble. We get entangled with compromise and make binding commitments because we go on how we feel, or what we see, rather than the clear direction of God. Joshua was upset with the Gibeonites but he really had no one to be upset with but himself. The curse on the Gibeonites looks more like a blessing to me: they became servants for the house of God. It is far better to be a servant of the living God than to be a prince among idols. This was a mark of God’s grace. He often takes our blunders and blesses people through them.

Lord, I know You can bless people even through my blunders but how much better it is when they are blessed through my obedience to You. Help me to ever look to You for direction rather than simply making decisions based on how others make me feel.

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