New Beginnings, Volume 13, 2007

Pastor Jim Verkest, Mosinee UMC

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.

        Years ago, we had friends who had a young son that was quite a boy.  A. J. was probably five at the time, but he was five going on 15.  He was very bright and always into something.  His favorite saying was, “I’ve got a better idea.”  No matter what his mom or dad thought he ought to be doing, A. J. always had a better idea.  I’ve often wondered where A. J. is today.  Does he still think he always has a better idea, or has he learned to listen to the counsel of others?

        I could probably relate to A. J. so well because I, too, spent much of my life thinking that my ideas were the best.  It wasn’t that I didn’t listen to others and their ideas, it was just that I was so confident in my own thinking that I did not rely on the thinking of others.  There came a time in my life, however, when I realized that my thinking, my choices were not always the best.  In fact, some of my choices became self-destructive.  I was making too many choices based on what I wanted, not on what was right, best, or for the greatest good of all people.  I had fallen into the trap that so many human beings fall into.  The trap that begins to believe the lies, I deserve it, I’ve earned it, and my needs are the most important. 

        As I began to see how my choices in this life were causing pain to others and also in the long run hurting me, I began to look elsewhere for guidance.  Thankfully, I turned to the source of real truth, God’s Word.  I began to spend time reading the eternal wisdom of God as set down in the Bible.  It started simply by reading a little book called the Daily Word.  This was a little devotional I had picked up that shared a word of encouragement along with a short verse of Scripture.  These little devotions took only minutes to read, yet I began to sense that God’s ideas for my life were far better for me than my ideas.  God knew the whole picture.  God knew my gifts, my abilities for He gave them to me.  He wants only good for me and, thus, His counsel is perfect for me in all things.  I soon began to read more of His Word and to let myself be guided by His wisdom.  It was the best choice I have ever made in my life.

        Are you going through life focused on you instead of on God?  Are your choices, your ideas always better than the counsel of others?  Or, perhaps, you’ve arrived at that place where you just can’t seem to get things right.  Turn to God as revealed in Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  Isn’t that what you’re looking for?  Come and join us Sundays or Wednesdays and make a new beginning.  A new beginning that allows God to help you make better decisions.