Let's just say.

What's the point in having directions if we aren't going to follow them? If we're ultimately going to trust our hunches, why bother with directions at all? Or do we look at directions as starting points from which we are free to deviate? Or last-ditch options in case we don't have any ideas of our own?

A lot of people look at God's directions like that. They are perfectly willing and eager to read the Bible, believing that it contains God's will for their lives. But they have a will of their own. And when push comes to shove, they choose to follow their instincts rather than God's word. That's not the way they usually phrase it, but that is what they are doing.

But God's directions are not a mere supplement to our own instincts. In fact, they are often a recipe for overcoming instincts. Following our "nature" is what caused us to be "children of wrath" in the first place (Ephesians 2:3).

Anyone can do what comes naturally. Animals do that. Only a devoted follower of Jesus can accept the inherent flaws of his "best guess" and agree to follow His directions, no matter where they may lead.

By Hal Hammons, via The Final Word, August 18,2010