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Listen while you read: "Fight The Good Fight"1
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The phone rang; it was the chairman of our annual quilt show. "Sharon, we have to cancel tomorrow's show." This was a really big deal! The quilt club at my recreational vehicle park has been having these shows for many years. We have over 90 members, resulting in 300-400 items on display all over the huge main building. People come from all over the area; in recent years, we've had close to 500 visitors.
Unfortunately, several members had contracted COVID-19 earlier in the week, and management required us to cancel the show to protect our club, our park residents, and community members. We quickly notified all our members and park residents. We cancelled vendors and tried our best to get the word out to the community. Cancelling the quilt show wasn't something that we wanted to do, but it was the right decision for that moment.
We make multiple decisions every day, some simple, some complicated. How do we know the right choice in each decision? Charles Stanley shares practical advice with his acronym H.A.L.T., standing for "hungry, angry, lonely, tired". If you're feeling any one of these while needing to make an important decision, wait until a more favourable time. I'm a perfect example: five years ago, I bought a car in a hurry when my other one broke down 250 miles from home and I'd been up till 2 a.m. the night before getting it towed home. I still have that car, but, for a variety of reasons, I wish that I'd rested, waited, and asked God for wisdom before I bought a car.
We can turn to God's Word for the best advice:
- Our own judgement is affected by too many outside influences – "With all your heart you must trust the Lord and not your own judgement. Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow." (Proverbs 3:5-6 CEV)
- Wise and godly friends can help us make good decisions – "Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days." (Proverbs 19:20 NKJV)
- Decisions that are in line with God's plans will work out, but not necessarily as we envisioned – "Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed." (Proverbs 16:3 NLT)
- All our decisions are covered in the Lord's mercy. We can let go of what has passed, use wisdom for today, and not worry about tomorrow – "Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning." (Lamentations 3:23 NLT)
- If we love God, involve Him in our decision-making, and live according to His plan for our lives, something good will be the result – "We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan." (Romans 8:28 VOICE)
Prayer: As we are faced with hard decisions, Lord, we seek You first, knowing that You will put all the pieces into place. We trust You, Father, to lead us in the way that we should go. Amen.
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About the author:
Sharon Cook <craftercook@gmail.com>
Apache Junction, Arizona, USA
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Good advice, Sharon.
Amen and amen. God be the glory. Blessings.
This is great advice for decision-making, Sharon. I especially appreciated the bullet list with verses incorporating scriptural help. Thank you!
Thank you, Sharon, for this very informative and sage message.
Blessings, and thank you.
(QC, CANADA)
Love the H.A.L.T advice! Thanks, Sharon, for sharing this excellent memory tip! Bless you and hope Spring is treating you well!
(BC)
Thanks, Sharon, for another of your special and very good advice writings. Our loving Lord is so deserving of our constant gratitude for His constant care of us. Blessings as you continue preparing these very mindful devotionals.
Good morning, Sharon,
A great reminder that God is there for us if we turn to him. I believe the acronym H.A.L.T. is important at all times in our lives. When our emotions are high, we do not make the best decisions.
I was amazed at the number of items that would be displayed by your quilt club and how hard that decision would be even though there was no choice. Thanks for sharing and wishing you a wonderful day. Blessings.
What great advice written so plainly!
Amen Sharon – I needed this advice today.
Love your devotion. Years ago we had a trip to England, Ireland and Scotland booked. I had gotten cancellation insurance thank goodness as hoof and mouth sprung up in Europe and we had cattle in our barn and would have had to destroy our clothes and also wouldn’t have been able to attend some of the places on the trip. I prayed to God about what to do and he told me not to go. We only had to prove that we had cattle in our barn to get our money back, but my husband needed surgery when we would have been in Ireland. That would have been a hard time. Thank goodness God answered my prayers.
(Ontario Canada)
All decisions big and small need prayer for God’s help and orientation.
Thank you for the reminder that we should HALT when it applies. I have made rash decisions when feeling emotional charged.
Blessings.
I really appreciated your devotional. I’m hanging onto it for future reference.
Have a blessed day Sharon.