Be Careful What You Ask For... You Might Get It!

Daily Reading: Proverbs 19

Scripture Focus:  Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.(Proverbs 19.2)

Devotional Thought:  As I was sitting in a waiting room this past week, I heard the song, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones.  It’s kind of a strange song, but the chorus of it is really quite insightful:

No, you can't always get what you want. You can't always get what you want. You can't always get what you want. But if you try, sometimes you find you get what you need.

We do not always get what we want, do we?  But often in retrospect we are so glad that we didn’t get what we wanted!  Perhaps we should sing, “We shouldn’t always get what we want!”  You’ve heard the saying, “Be careful what you ask for, you might get it.” 

Have you ever made a snap decision based upon what you think you want only to realize later that it was the wrong thing to do?  I know that I have.  When we desire something without knowledge, we may be desiring something that is very bad for us. “Knowledge” goes beyond knowledge of the desired object, too.  We must have knowledge of God’s will.  Sometimes a very good thing is not within God’s will, and having it would be a hindrance to our lives.

Often desire leads us to make hasty decisions.  Sometimes we don’t want to wait, for we know that more information will probably lead us away from what we want.  In those situations, we rush headlong into our error, blinded by two factors: desire and haste.  Sales strategies are often designed around this very tendency: “Call today in order to get this deal!”

Are you making wise decisions?  Are they based on God's knowledge?  Do they wait for God's timing?

Prayer: O Lord, grant me temperance in my desires and patience in my pursuits.  Help me to make decisions based upon your Word and will and to allow you time to work things out.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 10.16-18

16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.

17 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.