Today’s quote reminds us to think ahead…”It’s better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret.” (Jackie Joyner-Kersee)
That’s good advice and should be followed whenever possible; however, life doesn’t always give us much time to look ahead, much less to think ahead. Sometimes life just comes at us, and we have to make decisions on the fly. How can you be better prepared for those times, so that you make good decisions?
I’ve shared here a few times that I often will add to my prayers the sentence, “Help me make good decisions today.” If nothing else that helps put my mind in decision making mode with the added benefit of having touched base with the concept of God and, out of that, with an understanding of right and wrong. I am more prepared.
The strongest reaction to threatening or stressful situations that we have as humans is that of self-preservation. That’s what makes the actions of people like the man who rushed the shooter at the recent Club Q mass-shooting incident so unusual and heroic. Even he admits that he really didn’t have time to think about it. He attributed it to going into “combat mode” but it was really about doing what was right in that instant. Somewhere in his background there must have been some strong teaching or experience that imprinted upon him a strong sense of right and wrong; strong enough to overcome his self-preservation instinct and move him to action. He was prepared.
Another example that most have heard about shows the benefit of taking actions to be prepared. When he was interviewed later about his heroic landing of a disabled plane on the Hudson River, pilot Sully Sullivan told the interviewers that he had been preparing for that moment all of his piloting life. He actually when over various flight emergency scenarios in his mind and had a solution for them in mind when he took off. He was prepared.
Today’s headline is the real question that you need to ask yourself each day. You probably are not going to have to make life threatening or lifesaving decisions like the two examples above, but you will be faced with many decisions that will test your ability to choose between right and wrong. Are you ready to make decisions as needed throughout the day based upon a solid understanding of right and wrong? Upon what do you base that understanding? Are you prepared?
I’ve posed here in the past about those WWJD bracelets that were popular worldwide in the 90’s. One does not have to go on a nostalgia trips and find one of those bracelets to wear in order to be reminded to do the right thing – what Jesus might do in the situation. Just pausing each morning to ask God to help you make good decisions during the day will have the same effect. You will be reinforcing your internal right and wrong compass and you will be better prepared for the decisions that you will need to make. Are you prepared?
Ask God to help you make better decisions today.
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