| “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25). |
| I once read a book, evidently written by a true Christian, that was telling believers how to make right choices in their lives. His main advice was that since God has given us brains, we are to use them, and figure out what to do. Then we should check with the Word of God, and if we cannot not find anything wrong with our plan, we should go ahead with it. But we read in Jeremiah 10:23 that “the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” Yes, God has given us brains, and does intend us to use them in natural things. Also, it is a good thing to read the Word of God, for God often guides us by His Word. But when it comes to directing our steps in a spiritual way, we need to ask the Lord what to do. We should not make up our own minds, and then look into the Word of God to see if there is anything wrong with what we wish to do. This is doing things backwards; rather, we should read the Word of God first, and pray about the matter, asking the Lord to make His mind clear to us. |
| Sometimes a plan may seem quite right for us, and appears to fit the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This was the case with a king of Judah named Asa. He was a godly king who wanted to please the Lord, but later in his life, when a king named Baasha came against him, he took silver and gold out of the house of the Lord, and paid the Syrian king Benhadad to go and fight with Baasha. It looked like a good plan, and it seemed to work, for when Benhadad fought with Baasha, Baasha stopped building a blockade against Asa. Then Asa was able to take all Baasha’s building materials and make some fortifications for himself. You can read the story of Asa in 2 Chronicles, chapters 14-16. |
| But the prophet Hanani came to Asa and told him, “Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars” (2 Chronicles 16:9). Instead of trusting the Lord, Asa had followed his own plan, and while it seemed to work, yet later it caused him more trouble. The king of Syria was not really his friend, and later ended up fighting with Judah. |
| Sad to say, Asa did not want to listen to the prophet, and instead put him in prison for daring to criticize his plan. Because of this, the Lord allowed Asa to get some kind of serious disease in his feet, and he died two years later. This was very sad, for Asa was a good king, but when he trusted his own plans instead of asking the Lord what to do, he ended up in trouble. Let us always go to the Lord when we need to make choices in our lives. He will always lead us in the right way! |
