Do You Trust God Or Your Own Senses?

God gave us our senses. With the ability to taste, touch, feel, hear, and smell, we are equipped to experience the world in which we live. The problem is that quite often, our senses can fail us. It is because of this fact that we should always look to trust God and His guidance for us. We should do this even when our senses tell us otherwise.

Trusting Your Senses?

This could not be more true than in the story of the Gibeonites and their deception of Joshua and the Israelites (Joshua 9:3-13). Imagine standing there as you see the Gibeonites approach with the look of exhaustion and hunger. Picture their threadbare clothing and patched sandals. Try to think of how they probably smelled.

Now, as children of God, put yourself in Joshua’s shoes when the Gibeonites claim to be from a distant land seeking peace. Knowing God’s law regarding people from outside of the Promised Land, think about your natural response. Every input your senses are feeding to your brain tells you they are telling the truth. Their story matches with the evidence given.

What do you do?

Wrong Decision!

Well, obviously you have read the story. You know that Joshua and the Israelites agree to a peace treaty with the Gibeonites. They believed the evidence. While they did briefly question the Gibeonites on some of it, this was not enough to discern the truth. Instead, the Israelites locked themselves into peace with a people group that God wanted them to destroy.

Trust God In Business?

Can this happen in the business world? Don’t you and I face similar challenges everyday as we attempt to run our businesses as platforms for Christian ministry? I don’t know about you, but this story is very common in my world.

I can only assume you face the same thing. The deceiver could be a potential partner or a candidate for a leadership position in your company. Make the wrong decision here and you will likely pay dearly!

Other pitfalls could include vendors or even customers that appear one way and end up actually being something totally different. If you commit to these with enough resources before you determine the truth, the price can be significant.

What Is The Answer?

So what should we do to avoid these traps? What could Joshua have done differently that would have prevented him from making a treaty with the deceivers?

For the answer to these questions, I am only going to need four words. This is not that complicated, but the reward for following my advice here is huge. Here is the simple answer:

Slow Down. Trust God.

That is it. It really is that simple. It does not require spreadsheets or committee meetings. No focus groups or off-site retreats are necessary!

The Better Choice

Joshua could have simply told the Gibeonites that he needed some time to process their request. He could have said he would meet them back at the same spot the next morning. Then he could have gone into his tent and prayed.

I do not know how long it would have taken for God to speak to his heart about the deception. I really do not think it would have been long at all. But even if it was an extended period of time before he received his answer, wouldn’t it have been worth it?

Determined To Trust God

As I have mentioned here before, I have recently been going through a hiring process for a key member of our leadership team. I cannot convey in this post how critical this decision was to the future of our company. A wrong move here could be devastating.

As a result, and due to my ongoing study of this passage, I have been taking my time and praying more than I ever have for a decision. It took me just over a full month from start to finish to go through this hiring process, but I was determined to trust God to pick this candidate.

I don’t want it to sound like I was interviewing a bunch of deceivers. At the same time, you do have to sort through a lot of fluff and word-smithing to filter through resumes today. It is also difficult to discern the whole truth when talking on the phone, over Skype, and even in person. There were many times that I could have decided to trust my senses for a decision. Instead, I remained determined to trust God for the results.

One More Day

Even on what I thought was the last day of the process, I decided to wait again. My gut wanted to move forward, but I took one more day to pray and trust God to speak to me about the decision. Nothing changed, but the decision was that much clearer the next morning.

Now that I am looking back on the process, I am confident that my goal has been achieved! The new leader starts tomorrow morning and I am truly excited to have him as a part of the team. Only time will tell how good the decision was for both of us, but for right now I believe it will prove fruitful!

Good Advice

Let’s learn from Joshua’s mistake. Let’s apply his lesson to our business decisions. In your own situations, commit to slowing down before making a decision. Trust God to be faithful to give you wisdom and discernment. I promise you will not regret it!

Have you faced this dilemma before? Did you trust God?

How did it turn out for you?

What advice would you give someone else facing a similar question?