“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

(To access the entire “Alive” devotional series, please click here.)