When God overrules bad decisions, don’t make an equally bad choice as your next decision.

I was in a hurry because I needed to use lunchtime for my haircut. I knew all the dangers, all the statistics, and yet I still made a bad choice I knew I would regret: I pulled into the McDonalds parking lot. I dodged several other cars fighting to get into the drive-thru lane, parked my car, and went inside.

I waited in line, knowing I was about to do something that wasn’t wise. I looked around the menu offerings in all their cholesterol filled saturated fat glory, and made my selection. I was overcome with guilt, knowing I could still step out of the line and make a better decision. But the excuses were so comforting: I was short on time, the food is cheap, I was very hungry, I was already there, I had a good parking spot, etc. Like every other man who ignored the consequences of a bad decision, I defiantly stepped up to the register and made my order, with my debit card aimed at the scanner, fully loaded with the safety off and my hand in firing position. And then, it happened:

“I’m sorry sir. Our power went out earlier, and our system is not working properly. We can only accept cash right now.”

I fumbled around my pockets, my wallet, my everything like a high school kid who just lost his fake ID outside the club. I could feel the animosity building behind me in the line. I cancelled my order, and made the walk of shame back to my car. I tried as hard as I could to ignore what I knew in order to let myself make a bad choice: I did everything I could to eat McDonalds that day, and yet by God’s grace alone, my body was spared from that abuse.

Life is full of choices much bigger than whether or not to eat that toxic substance commonly referred to as “fast food.” And sadly, we tend to be just as defiant in the face of critically more important & life altering decisions. And sometimes, with God’s help, we are spared not only the consequences of a bad decision, but even the ability to follow through on our rebellious choices at all.

When we realize that the ability to screw something up has been removed from our immediate future, we have a new choice. We can thank God for overriding our destructive decision making and make a better choice, or we can find the next nearest McDonald’s on our iPhone and drive straight over there.

When God overrules bad decisions, don’t make an equally bad choice as your next decision. Is God overriding you on a potentially bad decision? What is the new decision you can make with this opportunity?