Seeking God’s Best in 2022

Imagine this: A couple I’ll call Romeo and Juliet meet while chaperoning a school trip to Peru. Romeo, a hard-working, successful doctor, is married to a woman who appears to most of her acquaintances to be a model wife and mother. But with Romeo, she is a nightmare – a harpy, a harridan, a shrew.

Juliet is married to another hard-working, successful doctor who is chronically depressed. His depression is so deep and unrelenting that their marriage has sucked all the joy out of Juliet’s life.

Romeo and Juliet have both struggled many years to make their marriages successful. They have been caring and forgiving. And both have failed. Their marriages have only grown worse with time.

Romeo and Juliet are people in a true-crime story by Ann Rule. They are sympathetic characters. And when, after the Peru trip, they begin an affair, it is difficult not to be happy for them.

But here’s my point. Marital infidelity is a sin and a mistake. God makes this fact very clear from the Ten Commandments to the teachings of the New Testament. Adultery is unacceptable behavior.

So Romeo and Juliet know the affair is wrong. But both are needy. Both are lonely. And we, the readers, understand why they make the decision they do.

In other words, getting wisdom about a decision may be obvious and straight-forward. But acting on wisdom is sometimes so difficult it feels impossible. In those cases, it will take a huge helping of God’s grace to help us do what we know we should.

On the Other Hand

Of course, we all understand that knowing the wise decision to make in a situation is not always simple. Career choices, marriage partners, where to live, how to help a loved one in crisis, what brand of toothpaste to buy – every day, every person makes multiple decisions. And, in some of those decisions, identifying wisdom feels like a mystery.

Over the years, as I have prayed for myself and others, I often find myself praying that God will give me or someone else the wisdom we need to make the right decision. Other times, the need is not for wisdom, but for God to grant me the grace to be willing and able to do what I know is right and wise.

And so, I have recently arrived at a kind of “shorthand” prayer – “Lord, please give me: wisdom to know, grace to do.”

Wisdom/Grace Prayers

I recently wrote a blog about my roller-coaster efforts to lose weight. Perhaps, the wisest advice I uncovered in that journey was the recommendation to quit eating/drinking sugar. It was not welcome advice, and I fought it. (If you’re interested in my Roller Coaster story, click here.)

I only came across the idea of formally “quitting sugar” in the summer of 2020. So imagine my surprise in scanning through a 25-year-old journal and finding myself harping on myself to give up sugar. Upon reflection, I recalled that I used to use “sugar” as an abbreviation to mean cookies, cake, candy, pies, ice cream, etc. But it was something of a revelation to me that I had been convicted for so many years of my need to quit putting sugar in my mouth.

Clearly, my desire for sugar was one of those situations where knowing wisdom was easy, but doing the wise thing was difficult. I believe it was when I was approaching the date I had set for myself to give up desserts, that I developed my “shorthand prayer”: Lord, please give me wisdom to know, grace to do.

Praying for Others

I’m not a parent, but observation makes me think that it must be very difficult to be the parent of a teenager or adult. Throughout the first 10-12 years of their children’s lives, parents undoubtedly grow accustomed to providing wise decisions for their offspring: Don’t play with matches; No wires in electrical sockets; Brush your teeth; Don’t chase the football into the street without looking both ways, etc.

Then when the child is old enough to choose drugs, alcohol, and sex, what’s a parent to do? They want to help, but the object of their help may reject their opinion outright. And, often, situations arise where Mom and Dad don’t know the best advice to give.

Of course, it’s not just a parent/child issue. We also long urgently to see God intervene in behalf of parents, siblings, friends, and co-workers. In many prayers for our loved ones, my simple prayer works. “Lord, give them wisdom to know, grace to do.”

Prayer on a National Scale

A situation that has struck me with particular force has been the untenable circumstances concerning President Donald Trump and the fraudulent 2020 election. Back in 2016, I was desperately concerned for my country when I learned we had to choose between Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump. What a ghastly choice. So my vote was against Clinton, more than for Trump.

And yet, Trump not only worked magic in the economy, but more importantly, he did his best to prevent the slaughter of pre-born babies and to support God’s country, Israel. What an amazing gift he was to the United States!

So now, I keep hoping President Trump will be able to do something to help reverse the mess being created by the current regime. I know he loves the United States and is determined not to give up on us. But what can he do? I often find myself praying for him, “Lord, please give him wisdom to know, grace to do.”

New Year

Today, we stand poised on the threshold of a brand, spanking new year with a pair of pretty ugly old years receding in the rearview mirror. We need a fresh start and new hope. I believe our only hope for a fresh start is I Chronicles 7:14. “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (NIV)

I hope God’s people will heed this admonition and that 365 days from now, we will look back on 2022 with fondness. May the Lord grant you a blessed New Year. My prayer for you is that, in all your 2022 decisions, God will grant you: wisdom to know, grace to do.

Thank you to Alexandra Koch at pixabay.com for the featured image.