Unless people learn how to manage their desperate moments, they are bound to commit blunders that are sometimes irreparable. Esau became desperate over lunch. The result was a deal that stripped him off his birthright. Saul gives us another example of a desperate person. In his desperation for guidance, he consulted with the witch at Endor. He needed direction so desperately and did not know where to turn. Even though he had previously put away all those who had a familiar spirit, it became for him the case of a dog returning to its vomit. As it later turned out, it was another step in the wrong direction with telling consequences. Saul’s bitter end is succinctly captured in one verse of scripture: “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance” (1 Chronicles 10:13).

You will certainly need one form of direction or the other, but never allow desperation to push you to any extra-biblical path to guidance. God has better ways to guide you; and to buttress this we refer to what Tim Gustafson wrote. “God wants us to seek His guidance in prayer (James 1:5). He also gives us the guidance of the Spirit (John 14:26) and His word (Ps. 119:1-5). He provides us with mentors and wise leaders. And He’s given us the example of Jesus Himself”. You cannot exhaust these channels before you gain insight into which direction God wants you to go.