Are You Sure?

I often post on the "Powder Room" from my tablet, especialy since the motherboard died in my husband's laptop and we now share a laptop.  When doing so, the four blogs I manage show up on the list of the Blogger mobile site.  After I have selected the publish button, a confirmation box will appear asking:

"Are you sure you want to publish this post?"

I can't tell you how many times, almost immediately after selecting the "yes" button, I  have realized I published the post to the wrong blog.  This almost always occurs with me publishing my husband's devotional "The Special of the Day. . .From the Orange Moon Cafe" to my Cafe Powder Room blog.

The confirmation box is there for a reason.  It is not an annoyance, although sometimes it seems that way.  It is a time for reflection, for making sure I am on the right page, for checking to make sure I am really doing what I am supposed to be doing.  I find it very frustrating when I have to delete the post and then repost it on the appropriate blog, especially when those actions could have been prevented by just a tiny bit of care on my part.

The Lord has given Christians "confirmation boxes" in our lives as well.  He has given us first of all the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead and direct us.  Sometimes we can know the sense of hesitation we feel in our spirits regarding something we are doing, or are planning to do, is a "confirmation box".  Perhaps our plans are just not what the Lord has for us.  Often, that is His Spirit's way of asking us, "Are you sure you are following the Lord's path in this?"

He has also given us His written Word.  Never will the Lord call us to do something which is contrary to His written Word.   We can be absolutely sure of that.  We can compare our thoughts, our plans, our desires with what is outlined in Scriptures to see how they line up.  If they are not on parallel paths, then we know which one is in error -- it will never be Him!

Finally, He has given us the wisdom and communion of fellow believers.  As we make ourselves accountable to each other -- in that spirit of lowliness and humility described by the Apostle Paul -- we can help to ensure that we each are following the Lord's path and avoiding the ditches on either side.  We do well to maintain close fellowship with other believers, to take advantage of their counsel and to seek their wisdom in times of question and turmoil.  As with my experience with the confirmation box, we must not only ask the questions, we must prayerfully listen to the answers as well.

Let us take my hastiness in pressing the publish button as a lesson.  When the Lord puts a confirmation box in our lives, let us slow down, take a look around and avail ourselves of those guides and helps He has placed in our lives.  Let us make sure our feet follow His path and not the path of our own making.

"Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies."  Psalm 27:11
"The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord:
and he delighteth in his way." Psalm 37:23