As I approached our driveway one day a while back I was greeted with the scene of my mailbox lying flat on the ground.  The post was intact, but the box was totally severed from it.  After a little investigation, I came up with a quick and easy plan:  just wrap some duct tape around it to secure it to the post until I could come up with a more permanent solution (my children have come to expect me to rig things in some creative ways!). 

Tan tape wrapped around a black box certainly stands out so there was no hoping for an inconspicuous appearance for the many passersby on our road.  Since I am not a likely candidate to win any yard of the month recognitions I was not disturbed by the looks of my repair job.  But it was temporary anyway and I soon purchased a new mailbox kit.

Before digging the hole for the new post, I figured it would be a good idea to check with the local utility company to make sure I would not damage anything.  I was surprised that I could not just walk into the utility company office and get clearance to dig one posthole; I had to call a special number and answer a series of questions, including if I was going to do any blasting or drilling.  That would have been an impressive mailbox post to require all that!  In addition I was told that two power companies would be contacted, the telephone company, the cable company, and the local water, sewer, and gas utilities.  Maybe it’s time for this country boy to move out of the city!

Admittedly I was a bit surprised at what one simple request involved, but in reality it was wise for a detailed investigation to be made before I dug that one hole.  When I did my work I could do so with confidence that I would not cause harm to myself or trouble for other customers.  I am grateful that just one phone call could provide so much information, and I highly recommend that everyone with plans similar to mine will take a few minutes and do what I did.

When we face decisions in life, it is wise for us to do some spiritual inquiry rather than just proceeding with only our human insight.  In recent days the vice president of our nation was ridiculed because he made reference to hearing from God.  In that discussion, hearing from God was even referred to as a mental disorder.  Yet it would be a sad–and rather useless–spiritual relationship if we called out to God and never expected to hear from Him.  As we examine Scripture, we find that God does indeed speak to His people who are willing to listen.  Obviously not every claim of having heard from God is legitimate, but that does not nullify the truth of genuinely hearing from Him.

God can speak to us in any way that He chooses—by His Spirit as we spend time with Him in prayer, through the circumstances of life, and sometimes even through the words and actions of other people–but the primary means of communicating with His people is through His Holy Word, the Bible.  We are reminded in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (New International Version).

One phone call took care of all my concerns about safety before I dug that one posthole.  One Book, the Bible, has the answer to all the inquiries of life if we will but take time to allow God to speak to our hearts, and then apply what He says to our lives.