Today's topic and thoughts come right from the point in my life that I need them most. For those who know me, I have been chasing seminary for a few years now and still am having thoughts about going to Boston this fall. Then there is also the pursuit of an active paid formal ministry in the church, that I have been actively running after for over a year now. Then comes my ministry in March with a very neat and friendly church family in York. At this point in my life and the life of my beloved and 4 "little me's" I definitely need the guidance of God in my life. So as I have been pondering this, reading about it, and praying over God's leading my my life I have come up with, with much help from others, that God gives us guidance in 4 big and important ways.
God guides us first by His Word. What is the most plain and strait forward way we can understand what God wants from us and our lives and actions? Through His words in the Bible. In the Bible God gives us commands on how to live. God tells us what sin is and what worship looks like. Jesus in Matthew gives us the Sermon on the Mount so that not only is our actions in check but also our hearts. God in the Bible lets us know what idolatry is and tells us plainly what the Christian life should look like. God says this is right and that is wrong. God lets us know point blank that the job of the human race is to live to bring praise and glory to their Creator. That is also the point of the Christian life shown in the Bible, to give worship and praise to our Savior Jesus and to go multiply ourselves by telling others what Jesus did for us. So the first guide to the daily life and what each day means for us the Bible.
The second way God guides us is by wisdom. God gives us a brain and experience for a reason. God also shows us by His word what wisdom is in each circumstance. God gives us the book of Job so we have wisdom in suffering. He gives us Proverbs so we can have wisdom in action. He gives us the Psalms to see wisdom in prayer. Song of Solomon so we can see wisdom in love. And Ecclesiastes to see wisdom in joy. God gives us the brain and wisdom in life so that we will have understanding in decision moments. God gives us wisdom so we know when to get help and more understanding about something in life because we need help. God gives us wisdom because that is how He best gives help to His children to walk a Christian life upright and wise even to the world. A wise life and the wisdom that God gives us, peppers the Bible everywhere and using our brain without fear is another gift from God in His guidance in life.
The third way God can guide us is by the support and help of friends and others in our life. God not only designed the the church for a community feel, but He also made humans social creatures for a reason. God also gives us a brain so we know when we need help and guidance. I know in my life alone I need help and guidance when it comes to areas like finances, hunting, politics, science, preaching, and working on my car. And that is just to name a few areas that when I have decisions to make I need incite and impute in my life. I have also discovered that in areas that I need guidance in, God has places men and women in my life that can give me a better understanding or impute that will guide me better than I could ever do on my own. What people has God placed in our lives that will help guide us? People, leaders, and friends are an amazing resource for guidance as we search what God is calling us to not only do daily but also with bigger decisions.
The fourth way I find that God gives guidance in our lives and leads us is through the Holy Spirit. Following the Holy Spirit though does not mean that we cannot move or make a decisions unless the Spirit gives us a sign in the sky. Sorry we are not Gideon or Paul, they were exceptions and we are normal. This also does not mean then that we use the Spirit like a dart board and just stab at the "right" guide. What following the Spirit means is we pray and listen to the ways He guides and directs us. We follow or allow God to give us peace when the way seems clear. And we also do not grieve the Spirit by our decisions either. Listening to the Spirit guide and direct us can be through friends, wisdom, or a path that stretches or strengthens our faith. No matter what, following the Spirit and His guidance means then that as long as we do not sin and worship ourselves with our decisions, He will walk with us and be our guide even if we make the "wrong" decisions. For example, if I would chose the "wrong" decisions and go to the wrong church, it is not a sinful act and even though I did not go the way God intended, His grace in my life and the work of following the Holy Spirit will cover my mistake and guide me into new paths for Him. The Spirit in our lives is the greatest gift and tool that God gives us as we follow His guidance.
No matter whether we make a "wrong" or "right" decision as we follow God and His guide, His grace and love for us will lead us and be with us as we walk in the life He calls. Just please do not grieve the Holy Spirit by sinning in the decisions because yes God grace will cover the sinful choice, but God will still have to punish us like a loving Father.
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