A Good Habit

Joshua 9:14 (HCSB)

Then the men ‹of Israel› took some of their provisions, but did not seek the LORD’s counsel.

The Gibeonites devised a plan to deceive the Israelites. They tricked Joshua and the leaders of Israel into believing they were citizens of a distant country, far outside the borders of the Promised Land. A treaty was struck before the deception was discovered. Now they were in a pickle! God had commanded the Hebrews to destroy all the inhabitants of the land. But God also expected the Hebrews to abide by the treaties and covenants they made. They would keep the treaty, but they would also suffer the consequences of this hasty decision further down the line.

God tells us as Believers to “owe no man anything” (Romans 13:8). Yet we sign on the dotted line and run up the credit card debt. Does God expect us to pay our bills? Absolutely! But will those debts get us into trouble down the road? Quite likely.

Someone said:

“Half of our problems are the result of saying ‘yes’ too quickly. The other half are a result of not saying ‘no’ quickly enough.”

A good habit we should develop is: Always seek the Lord’s counsel first!

He may not tell us what we want to hear, but He will always tell us the truth. In the long run, if we abide by His counsel, we will be much happier—and keep our backsides out of a jam!