I recently heard a godly man say, "The problems you are facing today are a direct result of your failure to seek God's wisdom in the past." As I gave some thought to his bold statement, I realized that there was a lot of truth in it. And I immediately began thinking of how it applied to my current car situation.

A few years ago, my husband, Joe, decided to buy an extended warranty for our oldest car. He had figured everything out on paper, reasoning that this plan was going to save us a lot of money in the long run. The only problem was that he didn't pray about it before he handed more than $2,000 over to this insurance company. And when our car broke down and needed almost $3,000 worth of repairs, this company refused to honor our warranty. After several weeks of pleading and demanding, we faced the painful reality that we had been swindled.

As I sought God about the matter, I asked Him to forgive Joe and me for failing to seek His wisdom and guidance before we shelled out so much money for that auto warranty. And I asked Him to come to our rescue, even though we didn't deserve it. Soon afterwards, we got a call from the manufacturer of our vehicle, saying that they would pay for more than 90% of our repair bill. And we thanked God for His mercy and grace.

In John 5:30 (NLT), Jesus says, "I do nothing without consulting the Father." If we would follow the Savior's example, we could save ourselves a world of unnecessary loss, disappointment, and regret. We could even save a lot of time and money. While God can, and often does, redeem the mistakes we make, He would much rather keep us out of trouble in the first place - IF we would just seek His wisdom and guidance when we have a decision to make.

What is it that the Lord desires you to consult Him about today?

Prayer: Lord, when I have decisions or plans to make, help me to turn to You for Your perfect wisdom and direction. Guard me from depending upon my own reasoning and rationale, which could lead to making costly mistakes. Thank You that as I learn to consult You and seek Your perspective for all of my purchases, plans, and projects, I will save time, money, and energy in the long run!