When you get lost while looking for a specific place, what do you do? Well, that depends if you’re a man or woman. Women want to stop and ask for directions, and men want to find it themselves.
As shown in the picture, this particular site said to recheck my location and destination when I entered our home address. If you put our address into a GPS, it takes you out by Amherst on Highway 37. In fact, a dumpster man and carport installers met out there at the same time one day asking each other if they knew where the Bakers lived. We had given them both specific instructions to call us when they got to Sudan, because GPS didn’t work on our physical address. Neither listened, and it cost extra gas, took more time, and caused confusion. It would have been so much easier to just call from Sudan and allow us to lead them out here.
I would label this moment in time we are living in as saturated with confusion. We get opposing directions from different sources, hear all kinds of rumors, and decisions are no longer black and white. Mass confusion is the norm in our society today, and it is hard not to enter the chaos. One source seems right until we hear the next one.
**The first to plead his case seems right, Until another comes and examines him. Proverbs 18:7
It depends on who you listen to and speak to as to what your plan of action should be. Each case sounds right at the moment until you hear another who pokes holes in that theory and “has a better way.”
**I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Psalm 32:8-9
The instructions we should be seeking are not found in the news, in podcasts, or even Facebook. In this time of mass confusion, God still promises to give us wisdom and “teach us the way we should go.” We do not need to follow the chaos and mass hysteria and be led around with a rope around our necks, or as the Word says, “controlled by bit and bridle.” Most news sources do not agree on what is happening and what should be done to solve it. If we watch or listen to the news for just one day, we come away with 30 different plans of actions and the truth is about as clear as mud.
Ask for wisdom. Pray for guidance in a world that has gone crazy. God will put Godly people in our paths who can help us navigate these uncharted waters. He will speak in our hearts and lead our minds to how we need to proceed. Find a reliable news source that doesn’t promote mass hysteria. Ask God to lead you to articles or people who have true information and have nothing to gain from what they share. Then let Him lead. Instead of following the crowds who really have no idea where they’re going, allow Him to be in control of the events that are rocking our world and how to handle it.
I desire to proceed with caution and take precautions, but not go insane in the process.
**You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7 I woke up in a panic Wednesday night and didn’t sleep much. I grabbed my phone and started taking notes, scheduling future texts, and changing appointments on my calendar. I ended up having to get out of bed so that I didn’t wake Benny. I thought I had our ducks in a row and we had a plan. Then Xavier called yesterday and the campus at UTA was shut down, including dorms. They must have everything out by Sunday and will continue classes online. Now, this is the story across America, and we are not alone. I am truly thankful he is close enough that we can go load him up and bring him home. When I feel like I have my emotions under control and am waiting on God, something new pops up to figure out and find ways to handle. With all the chaos going on, I’m afraid this will be the norm for a while. So, once again, I must go back to God’s feet and lay the new emergency down and ask again for wisdom and peace. This will be an everyday conscious decision for me, it does not come naturally.
Make it a point to get alone with God every day. Spending time alone with Him in His Word does wonders for your heart and soul. Shut out the world for a little while, and just listen to Him. He is our hiding place when the whole world goes crazy. He protects us and surrounds us with His love, comfort, and peace, that has no earthly explanation. God’s Word tells us He will give wisdom, comfort and peace. We simply must ask.
**Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
This is the formula the Bible gives for confusion. Do I feel like following it? No, not always. I want to worry a little and chew on problems a while. I want to call friends to see what their solution would be. Those are human reactions to the chaos we are facing. But God says He has the answers. He has the peace that we so desperately seek.
Today I just challenge you to make time in His Word a priority. His Word never changes in this world that is tilted on its head. He stays the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He does not withdraw His promises because confusion has taken over.
LORD, thank You for never changing. Thank You for the promises in Your Word we can stand on and take advantage of. Thank You for continuing to be in control no matter how chaotic our world gets. Thank You for protecting us and giving us a hiding place to run to when we need to just stop and catch our breath. Allow us to unite with other believers and take care of each other. Give us wisdom in the areas we are lacking. Protect our people and our nation, LORD. When “new emergencies” come up, and they will, help us keep our eyes on You.
**Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
**For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
ON THE PORCH 