Hard Choices … Hello Hump Day readers. Today is a day of somber because on August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths by the end of that year. As you know, 3 days later another atomic bomb hit Nagasaki and that led to over 200,000 deaths by the end of 1945. Each anniversary the US and Japan remind themselves of loss and devastation with nuclear weapons. War creates hard choices, and WWII was a tough one—honestly, every war we’ve been in is hard and devastating.

Those choices were not only hitting Japan but you may remember this consequence that Prime Minister Winston Churchill also had to deliberate on. Why? The British Secret Service broke the Nazi code and the Germans were getting ready to bomb the city of Coventry. This presented Churchill with making a very painful choice:

1) He could evacuate the city and save hundreds of lives. However, this would tip off the Germans that their code had been broken, causing them to use another one and take the upper hand away from the Allies—or…

2) He could take no action, which would lead to more deaths but keep the information flowing and save even more lives in the long-term. With a heavy heart, he decided to take no action. Yet, his decision that day did, in fact, give the Allied Forces access to much more intelligence, a tremendous advantage moving forward, and saved more British lives overall.

Let’s face it: not every decision is black or white, right or wrong, good or evil. If it were, there would be no difficult decisions. Yet, when we encounter these “gray areas” in life—we have to make hard choices. But, before we make those choices we must listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us in the way God’s wisdom wants us to go.

You can imagine the struggles that Churchill had and worse yet the atomic bombs. President Harry Truman, who inherited the project after President Roosevelt’s death, bore the ultimate responsibility for the bombing decision. While there was some debate within the committee, they ultimately recommended the use of the bomb against Japan without prior warning. Some scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, however, expressed reservations and advised against using the bomb as a weapon against Japan. Hard choices indeed.

When you are facing hard choices, here are a few Scriptures to help you as they did in those times. Churchill and many of the Manhattan Project people sought Scriptures for help:

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” James 1:5 [NLT]  “Trust in the Lord and wait quietly for his help. Don’t be angry when people make evil plans and succeed.” Psalm 37:7 [ERV] “The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” Psalm 32:8 [NLT]

War, tough times with family, work, finances, and those choices that we need to make but instead we procrastinate making that choice are hard. So, we need to stop and ask God for guidance. We must ask God to open our hearts to his Holy Spirit within us. Then, we can embrace our trust in God and our faith will lead us down the path that will bring about our good and the God’s glory. Remember this quote from Winston Churchill: “This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.” AMEN.