HOW GOD GUIDES

MEMORY VERSE: I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Psalm 32:8

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 13-14

One of the basic differences between living things and non living things is that living things make decisions whilst non living things don’t. Even plants make decisions – they bend towards light. This is called Phototropism. (Phototropism is the growth of a plant as response to a stimulus, and Phototropism occurs when a plant responds to light bending in the direction of light). We, human beings, have to make decisions in life. We are faced with small decisions and big decisions. In many cases, it is of the utmost importance that we make the right decisions – for instance in our choice of a marriage partner. To make the right decision we need God’s help.

Guidance springs out of our relationship with God. This is why we must run from anything that could soil our relationship with Him. This is why we must do away with everything called sin. The Most High God has promised to guide those who are walking with Him. Psalm 32:8 says, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” God has a plan for each and every one of us. According to Jeremiah 29:11, He plans to prosper us and not to harm us. Not only that, He plans to give us hope and a future. If we are to find God’s plan for our lives, we need to ask Him about them. God guides us when we are prepared to do His will rather than insisting that our own way is right. According to Psalm 25:9, He guides the ‘humble’.

Given that we are willing to do what God wants us to do, in what ways should we expect God to speak to us and guide us? There are various ways in which He guides us. Sometimes God speaks through one of the ways set out below; sometimes it is a combination especially if it is a major decision. The first way He guides is through ‘commanding scripture’. God’s general will for all people, in all places, in all circumstances, is revealed in Scripture. He has told us what He thinks about a whole range of issues. From the bible we know that certain things are wrong. Therefore, we can be quite sure that God will not guide us to do these things. God will not lead any man to leave his wife or any woman to leave her husband to start a new relationship with another man or woman. God has already made His will clear on that when He said “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). In many other areas God has revealed His ‘general will’. We do not need to ask His guidance; He has already given it. If we are not sure, we need to ask someone who knows the bible better than we do whether there is anything on that issue. Once we have discovered what the Bible says, we need search no further. Please note that although God’s general will is found in the Bible, we cannot always find His particular will for our lives there. The Bible tells us that it is His general will for people to get married. Although singleness is a high calling, it is the exception rather than the rule (e.g. 1 Corinthians 7:2). God’s general will is that Christians are only free to marry other Christians. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” God still speaks today through the scriptures. He may speak to us as we read. Psalm 119:24 says, “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellers.” That is not to say we find God’s will by opening the Bible anywhere at random and seeing what it says. Rather, as we develop the habit of regular, methodical Bible study we begin to find it quite extraordinary how appropriate each day’s reading seems to be for our own particular circumstances in which we find ourselves.

NOTE: Sometimes a verse seems to almost leap out of the page at us and we sense God speaking through it. This was certainly my experience, for example, when i had a big challenge at work some years back. 'Christ in me the hope of glory', Colossians 1:27, leaped at me in the midst of this challenge and i knew that was God’s word for me. I held unto it and God gave me victory.

QUESTION: Do you still have time for regular bible study? When was the last time you sat before the Lord with your pen and paper, waiting for Him to speak to you through His word?

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Bro Samuel | Reaching the world for Jesus.