How to stay clear of "angry bears."

The question that bothers most people more than any other is “What should I do/say/think/etc.?” Life is filled with choices almost from the day we arrive. Many are not important, but some will determine where you will live, who you will marry, and so forth.  Our concern on a regular basis is “How will this be beneficial for me.” Now that seems to be reasonable, but what if God has other plans? Let’s say that you wanted to take the job in Centerville because the pay was good and they had a good Presbyterian church there, but somehow the committee misplaced your application and the job went to someone else. Then, since you were all emotionally ready to move anyway, you quickly took a job in Out-There-Ville that wasn’t all that you had hoped for. [You know I’m making all this up, but it could, and often does happens.] Summary: Centerville was wiped out by a fierce tornado and all three of your daughters found wonderful Christian husbands in Out-There-Ville. You never know, do you?
       You might say it was all happenstance. God wouldn’t have said to you, “Don’t go to that better job in Centerville because I want your daughters to marry A, B, and C and they live some place else.” Well, No, but he could sure have mixed things up so it did happen. It often works that way, you know. There is a great verse in Isaiah that is relevant to this discussion. In chapter 48, verse 17 the prophet quotes God as saying, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” Sometimes he teaches by just making things work out as they do and you find yourself reflecting on how good and how kind God is to have directed my life in such a way that I would end right here where I am.
       But God also teaches you what is best for you through his Word. He has laid out those basic moral principles that will take your life along the best path. Not necessarily the best when it comes to salary or number of bedrooms in the new house, but better in those things that in the long run will  make your life as beneficial as possible including your outreach to others along the way. God always wants for us what will be best for us, and that is what we want as well. The only difference is that he knows what is best and we don’t. You wouldn’t take a hike in the jungle if the forest ranger said there was an angry bear lose looking for dinner. But, if the weather were beautiful and you just love walking in the woods, so you , , , Well, what DO you do? Listen to the one who knows or just go on your own? Isaiah quotes the ultimate authority as saying, ”I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” Stay clear of the “bears” of life and follow the sage advice of life’s best Ranger.  You can’t lose.