Good, Better, and Best

I’m not sure Sears or JC Penney even publishes a catalog any more. At least I can’t remember the last time I saw one. The aspect of online shopping has pretty much ended such antiquated practices, I suppose. Back in the day, those catalogs arriving at the house had quite a bit of significance. One would pour through their pages, picking out all kinds of things you thought you’d need or want. The Penney’s Christmas catalog was especially neat for a kid, because it contained an entire section on toys, games, and sporting goods. I would mentally make out a wish list that I knew was unattainable, but it was fun to dream. Now the Sears catalog utilized a three-level method of rating the quality its goods. For various items, Sears would offer Good, Better, and Best quality selections. Quite naturally, the prices of the merchandise reflected their rating quality. As we go through our daily walk with God, He’s given us at least three forms of communication with Him that we can look at as Good, Better, and Best.

Good: Circumstances

Circumstances can often be God’s external guide, the way He moves us. Many times we hear that "everything happens for a reason." I’m not sure I buy into that completely, but I do believe if we seek Him out, we can find God in every circumstance, and then they can happen for a reason. For instance, Joseph’s brothers threw him in a pit and sold him off to slavery. He found himself in a heck of a circumstance, but God used his situation for His glory. Whatever your circumstances are right now, take a step back and see what God might be up to in your life.

Better: The Holy Spirit

Isaiah 30:21 tells us:

21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

Are you hearing that still, small voice? Children of God learn to recognize God’s voice. In Biblical times, shepherds would put their sheep into a holding pen with other shepherd’s sheep. Perhaps several flocks would be held together in the same common pen. But each herd recognized their own shepherd’s voice and when he called them out, only his herd would leave the pen. I list the Holy Spirit as only "better" not because of God’s ineffectiveness, but because of our own failure at times to be tuned in to our Good Shepherd’s voice. If we would ever truly start praying without ceasing, keeping a constant ear out for God’s voice, our lives wouldn’t be as muddied as we sometimes make them.

Best: The Bible

God’s infallible word remains as our best source of guidance. Psalms 119:105 tells us clearly that: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.   How often do we fail to turn that lamp on and thus, stumble.

In Italy, there is a harbor that's full of treacherous rocks. Many boats have met their doom trying to navigate their own way through. On shore there are three lights that serve as navigational guides. The key is to line the lights up, and then follow that path to safe harbor. For Christians, circumstances, the Holy Spirit, and God’s Word can act as our safe passage through life’s pitfalls.