"The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him
nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."
(John 14:17, NIV2)
"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth."
(John 16:13, NIV2)
Napoleon Bonaparte wanted to be in control of the whole civilized world. To do
so, he sold all his rights to the lands in North America. It was a massive
territory, consisting of eight hundred thousand square miles of land. All of
this for the price of fifteen million dollars, about 3 cents an acre. The
Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States! To Bonaparte though,
North America was but an uncivilized and wild speck in his eye. A worthless
territory, only good to be sold so that he could conquer all of civilized
Europe.
In a twist of irony, he lost it all. He was defeated in Waterloo, Belgium and
exiled for good. But then imagine if he had paid more importance to North
America, is it possible that his ambitious dream could have been fulfilled?
Imagine all of North America speaking French! It was not to be though, as
Napoleon relied only on his own ingenuity.
Too often we do the same thing. We make decisions on the spur of a moment. How
often haven't we regretted such decisions! "But it felt so right!"
This happened with the Israelites, when they conquered the Promised Land. People
of Gibeon resorted to a ruse (See Josh 9:3-4). They were well aware that nothing
could stop these Israelites. Instead of war, they turned themselves into
Oscar-winning performers, wearing shabby tunics, patched-up flip-flops, and
cracked wineskins, all to give the illusion that they had come from far off.
The Israelites believed them and made a pact of peace with them. After all,
these people sure didn't belong to the soon-to-be conquered Promised Land! But
here was their pitfall: "The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not
inquire of the LORD." (Josh 9:14, NIV2)
Imagine how disgusted these Israelites became when they had to protect the
people of Gibeon, who were living just over the hill, from an attack by their
neighbors (See Joshua 10)! How different the outcome of this would have been if
they had depended on our Father Abba!
How often don't we do the same! It's true, we often have to rush and have no
time to truly consider some of our decisions. But then, is it even worthwhile to
make hasty decisions when more often than not we regret them?
Something amazing happens once we accept Jesus fully in our lives. God's Spirit
begins to reside in us, and He will guide us in all things, as long as we depend
on Him. We are filled by the Spirit from above, and not only does He guide us,
He also fills our heart with peace, joy and love.
How could it be otherwise? The Life source is truly residing in us!
How often could we have avoided stupid, costly decisions, if we had only
inquired of Him?
We have a Forever Friend that we can truly trust. No Louisiana Purchase will
ever happen to us, if we rely on the Real Life Source. Our Heavenly Dad is our
guide!
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD
our God." (Ps 20:7, NIV2)
Who will you trust?
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.