Follow ... consistently!

Who do you turn to when important decisions have to be made? That may sound like some kind of advertisement for bank, or our government, but there really is a place that you most likely turn to for guidance. How does the Bible help you? How does prayer help you? How does a mature Christian help you? While those may be appropriate sources for support and assistance, do we use them?

Jesus came to demonstrate that God is a reliable resource when big decisions have to be made. Whether it was choosing apostles to carry on his work, or healing people, or feeding gobs of hungry followers, Jesus modeled turning to God for help. In Hebrews 4:16, after helping us see that Jesus went through the same kind of temptations that we have had to go through, the author says, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

James continues this thought in James 4:7-8, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” These are comforting statements for us to benefit from.

Solomon wrote to his sons telling them that his proverbs would help them to “know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior… (Proverbs 1:2-3) So if these wise sayings serve as a guide for us when we’re not quite sure which path to take, not certain about going on or turning around, or just shed some light to our lives, then it makes sense that by turning to God and His word that we should see positive results to our daily dilemmas. Not to say we won’t chose something that we wish we hadn't, but there should be such a dependence upon God that all our thoughts run through a kind of spiritual filter.

In Jesus’ day, the people heard Him speak and were in awe by His wisdom; they recognized that He spoke with authority that naturally drew people closer to Him to seek help on all their problems of life. Matthew 8 describes a man with leprosy who finally realized who could help him with his skin disease; a Roman Centurion recognized Jesus’ authority over the problem of his paralyzed servant. Soon enough people from all around Judea would know to take their problems to Jesus. He became famous for solving all kinds of issues dealing with diseases, demons, physical infirmities, even dead loved ones.

But when His words got tough to follow, the people didn't recognize Him as a viable source for their problems anymore. For instance in John 6 where Jesus tells His followers that unless they “eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves (John 6:53). In a sense He was challenging them to do more than just turn to Him when they had a need but to become as reliant upon His words in good times as in troubled times. He wanted them to become dependent upon Him for all decisions in life; dependent upon Him as people are for food. Instead, they had just come for the “free lunch.” John 6:26, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.”

The question to us is, do we turn to God’s word for all decisions? When we’re going to buy a car, sign a contract, get married, seek a new job, chose a major in college, discipline our children, etc.?

It’s easy to only turn to God when it’s a spiritual issue, but in reality all things can become a spiritual issue. One decision may open the door for a more righteous opportunity or a more perverted one. We must practice relying on Jesus as so many people did when He walked the earth. Perhaps we could learn from some of the followers’ errors and not just seek Him not for spiritual blessings but for all issues of life. Put that into practice!