32. Rock Goes the Gospel - Cream "Crossroads"

Cream was one of rock's first so-called super groups. Ginger Baker from the Graham Bond Organisation and Jack Bruce from Manfred Mann joined forces with Yardbirds/John Mayall and Eric Clapton to for the power trio in 1966. There were to collaborate and produce for only 2 years. They none the less produced a massive body of psychedelic and blues music. On there third Album "Wheels of Fire" they finally got round to recording Robert Johnson's blue legend "Crossroads". this song would go and become a signature song for Clapton in his solo career.

I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
Down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above for mercy, save me if you please

I went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
Down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
Nobody seemed to know me, everybody passed by

When I'm going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
Going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
You can still barrel house baby, on the riverside

Going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
Going down to Rosedale, take my rider by my side
You can still barrel house baby, on the riverside

You can run, you can run, tell my friend-boy Willie Brown
Run you can run, tell my friend-boy Willie Brown
And I'm standing at the crossroads, believe I'm sinking down

Hopefully there are only;y a few real times in your life when you stand at the crossroads. It's not simply an important decision that you face. It's the life-altering, life determining, or life saving decision that will be made. Should I marry this person, should I choose this new career path? How do I handle? What do I do first? How should I choose? Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.

Making a decision or (Being at the "Crossroads") is often very hard. Some decisions it seems are very easy to make, while others, we lose sleep over trying to figure out what it is we're supposed to do. The decisions that are the most difficult are the ones that change the course of our lives in one way or another. Things like house moves, or career changes or family changes like marriage or divorce can consume our every thought. What do I do? 

We play out the consequences of each decision and run them through our minds in anticipation of what obstacles we'll face if we make this decision or that decision. Sleep escapes us, we become tired and exhausted with it all, and if we're not careful we'll fall in our weakness and fail to act at all. We'll fail to make any decision, avoiding the point where we get started, and begin moving forward with what has to be done.  or on the contrary we move to quickly, we don't see advice or we do not test out with others God's call, we assume that we know God's will, it might not be God's will but at times we force our own agenda on circumstances in order to change them.

I don't know what "Crossroads" you are facing, but I know that God does. The worst decision we can make is the decision that we fail to allow God to direct. Especially when were talking about the kind of decisions that change our lives in such a big way. God must be in the center of that decision, or he will be in the center of it later when your calling on him to help you out of the poor decision you've made. So no matter what decision it is you face... Seek God's direction and guidance before you decide! The best solution, when we don't know what to do next, is to pray and dig into God's word and be sensitive to His leading. He'll choose a path for you, but will you recognize it?

It is good to dig in deep to the Word of God when facing important decisions. "Crossroad" moments. The Bible is full of passages that are about seeking God in "Crossroad" moments. But it's pure dangerous to just pick a verse to bolster up what we are feeling, in order to prove the will of God.

1 John 5:14 "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything to his will, he hears us. "

Proverbs 18:15 "The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out."

James 1:5-6   "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. "

Proverbs 15:14 "The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly."

Proverbs 18:13 "He who answers before listening - that is his folly and his shame."

A few years ago when faced with some life altering decisions I made a plan to test out the will of God and I did it in a number of different ways. 

1. BIBLE: - I went to the word of God and looked up the passages that told the stories of people who made tough decisions in there lives. I meditated on those passages.
2. PRAYER: I prayed long and hard about the issue. I took myself away for prayer walks and got before God.
3. SHARING: I spoke to people I was close about my thoughts, and asked them to pray for me and with me.I asked them to bring back to me words and pictures that God might give them for me. 
4. LEADERSHIP: I spoke to my church elders and asked them to pray. They will have faced this with others before and will have helped people hear God in the middle of trying circumstances.
5. INDEPENDENT: I made a choice that God could speak to me through someone that did not know my circumstances and was prepared to listen in any conversation for the will of God to come through, even if we were not talking about the circumstances that I was facing. I was haloing that God would just drop a seed in the conversation. 
6. WAITING: - It's not easy when faced with "Crossroad" moments and the last thing is important if you can do it. Take time to come to a decision and include others in that decision.
7. CONFIRMATION: One I felt that I was hearing God's direction for the way ahead, I sought confirmation from God.
8. THANKSGIVING: During the process I gave thanks to the Lord for opportunities to grow and opportunities to trust him more.
9. LISTENING: I made myself an intentional listener. I figured that God could speak to me through any means and made my self listen more carefully to people and to life that was breaking in.
10. CONFIDENCE IN GOD: I trusted in the sovereignty of God. He was in control. He had the power and authority. I was learning to trust in the plan and purpose of God.

Jeremiah 29:11 "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope."

Being at the "Crossroads" is never easy. Making those life changing decisions is never easy. Transition points are never easy. God knows our hearts. He has plans that are bigger than ours, but often include ours. "I went down to the crossroads, fell down on my knees" is the best place to start.