Think of how many decisions you make in a day: What do I wear today? Should I take a different route to work due to construction? Should I have a bagel or an English muffin for breakfast? Should I talk with that person about yesterday or just blow it off? Which child is it that had flute lessons day? Should I get a quick twenty out at the ATM machine at lunch or after work? Do I need to pay bills today or can they wait until tomorrow? Do I have enough energy to run today or not? Should I drive to the corner gas station for milk or go all the way to Wal-Mart? Which sitcom should I watch tonight? Should I pick up the phone or let the machine get it?
Other decisions are harder and much more life impacting. Should we invest in a new car or not? Which one? Buy or lease? New or used? Is it time to put our child in a private school? Should we close in the garage or save the money for a vacation? Do I really want to join this church? Is this the woman God wants me to marry or am I just in lust? Should Grandpa live on his own or with us, or be put in a retirement home? Should I bail my troubled kid out of jail or show him tough love and make him learn that there are consequences for bad choices? Should I be buried or cremated?
Without outside help and guidance, decisions like these every day can be paralyzing. And what if the question and answer are not specifically condemned or approved in the Bible? What should be my reaction? What is God's will anyway? And why is it so hard to discern it sometimes? Should we do what one man did? Desiring to know God's will, he decided to open the Bible randomly and blindly point to a verse. His finger landed on, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." "Good," he thought, "I'll try it again." This time he read: "Whatever you are about to do, do quickly!" "So far, so good. Okay, Lord, be a little more specific, please." He let the Bible flop open a third time, closed his eyes and pointed. The verse read: "And Judas went out and hanged himself." Maybe some of you have done that before. I wouldn't suggest that. Rather I would suggest the path that Peter and the disciples took in our text for today.