Divine Guidance

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:

I will guide thee with mine eye."

(Psalm 32:8)

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,

This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand,

and when ye turn to the left."

(Isaiah 30:21)

Never ignore God's divine guidance!

One time, a traveler on foot came to a crossroads. He picked up a small stick and threw it into the air, watching where it landed. He repeated it two more times. A bystander watched and asked what he was doing. The traveler looked at the man and said, "I am throwing a stick to help me decide which way to go." "Why did you throw it three times?" inquired the observer. "I didn't like the directions it gave me the first two times," was the honest reply. This kind of wisdom is foolish. "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" (1 Corinthians 1:20). Other people seek guidance by consulting mediums, witches, or other places not allowed by God. (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6; Deuteronomy 18:14). To find God's wisdom and guidance for our lives, we have to go to Him. We have to seek His advice and consultation with all our hearts. "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13).

To claim the promise mentioned above, we must have a personal relationship with God through His Son. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and The life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). We must become children of God: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" (John 1:12). We must trust the Lord: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5–6). We must ask for God's guidance in order to receive: "Yet ye have not, because ye ask not" (James 4:2). We must ask for wisdom: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5). We must have fellowship with the Holy Spirit as born-again Christians to receive help and guidance: "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come" (John 16:13).

Finally, as children of God, we must surrender to God's will and obey God's guidance. Some people want to know God's will, but afterward, they question God and do not obey and follow His guidance. Because God knows their resistant heart, He does not reveal His plans to them. We must understand that our life is like a prescription pill that contains many different ingredients. If we take the whole pill, it will help us. If we take the ingredients separately, it will damage us or even cause death. Only God knows how to mix the ingredients of the pill for our life. He expects us to follow His guidance. If not, tragedies can follow in our life.

Several years ago, I heard a young man's testimony in our church. He got saved before he was ten years old and was called to serve the Lord as a missionary. He told the Lord that he would go anywhere, but not to Africa. He waited several years for an answer from the Lord, showing him where to go as a missionary, but he never received a response. Finally, the young man gave up and told the Lord that he would be committed to going anywhere the Lord wanted, even to Africa. A short time afterward, the Lord opened the door for him to go as a missionary to Japan. Remember, never bargain with the Lord. He knows what is best for you. Always be open to His leading and obey Him. Finding God's way begins with giving up your will. You can find God's will by listening to His voice and obeying and following His directions!

In August of 2001, tests showed that I had three tumors in my neck and nearby chest area. My surgeon at that time told me in his office, "Even God can't help you." After I lost hope and all confidence in him, I went and talked with the specialist doctor who had recommended him. Before I met with the specialist, I asked the Lord to help me and give me His wisdom and guidance as I faced this serious situation. First, I asked the specialist to recommend someone for a second opinion, so he suggested an excellent surgeon who was a professor of surgery at a well-known university. Second, I asked if there was any other way, besides using only his eyes, for the surgeon to possibly see if there were more tumors in addition to those that were on the CAT SCAN. His answer was not satisfactory. It was almost the same response as my first surgeon when I asked him the same question. I then told him that the day before I had the CAT SCAN in the hospital, they had given me a radioactive pill to help them see the tumors in the pictures. I asked him why not talk to the surgeon and ask him to consider giving me two or more radioactive pills the day before the surgery. I told him I believed that these pills would help the surgeon to see more clearly, not only these tumors but also others if they existed.

My doctor and my second surgeon discussed my suggestion and decided to give me ten radioactive pills the day before my surgery. Because of that, the surgeon found and removed a total of 35 tumors and lymph nodes. Eighteen of them were malignant. Now, everything is history. By God's grace, I am alive, and my doctor and surgeon now use the same surgical procedure to do surgeries to help save the lives of other people.

The Lord's desire is always to give His guidance to those who seek Him with a heart to obey. Trust and obey the Lord to direct your paths. "He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6). Realize that the Lord is in control of everything. He works behind the scenes to accomplish His will. Nothing happens without divine permission. The questions for you are: "Which way is the stick pointing for you? Is it pointing to your will or God's will?" Remember that it is not wise to ignore the directions God is giving you. He has promised to instruct and counsel you in the journey of life.

I hope you have experienced seeking, receiving, and following divine guidance with a humble heart. You can receive it through the Word of God, through the Holy Spirit, through your prayers, through other believers, through circumstances, and through meeting God’s conditions as you follow in faith. When it comes to divine guidance, there is no room for a second opinion!

The Lord delights to give wisdom

and divine guidance to those who seek Him

with a heart to obey.

BIBLE VERSES

"The word of God is quick, and powerful, [Divine Guidance] and sharper than any twoedged sword..." (Hebrews 4:12)

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16,17)

"...the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth..." (John 16:2)

"Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." (1 Corinthians 2:12)

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you."

(Psalm 32:8-9)

"The Lord will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." (Isaiah 58:11)

"The Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

"Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in it,' Whenever you turn to the right hand Or whenever you turn to the left." (Isaiah 30:21)

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5–6)

"Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation..." (Psalm 25:4-5)

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

"For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake His faithful ones. They will be protected forever." (Psalm 37:28)

"For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death." (Psalms 48:14)

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalms 119:105)

"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:3)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)

Humility and prayer influence a person to feel a need for divine guidance.

When It Comes

To Divine Guidance

There Is No Room For a Second Opinion!

QUOTES

"An idol is anything you turn to for help when God told you to turn to him for help." — Pastor and Author, Henry Blackaby

"God knew that we could never grasp the whole of His greatness with our finite human minds. It is for this reason that He provided us with a divine Teacher — the Holy Spirit."

"As you walk through the valley of the unknown, you will find the footprints of Jesus both in front of you and beside you."

— Quotes by Pastor and Author, Dr. Charles Stanley

"God does not guide those who want to run their own life. He only guides those who admit their need of His direction and rely on His wisdom." — Author and Speaker, Winkie Pratney

"Find a daily time to seek divine guidance." "Every problem teaches us to seek divine guidance."

― Quotes by Author, Lailah Gifty Akita

"We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the divine guidance of God being exhibited through childlike people who were “foolish” enough to trust God’s wisdom and His supernatural equipment."

— Evangelist and Author, Oswald Chambers

"If America is to survive, we must elect more God-centered men and women to public office; individuals who will seek Divine guidance in the affairs of state." — Evangelist, Billy Graham

"May all of you as Americans never forget your heroic origins, never fail to seek Divine guidance, and never lose your natural God-given optimism" — President, Ronald Reagan

"In war, when a commander becomes so bereft of reason and perspective that he fails to understand the dependence of arms on Divine guidance, he no longer deserves victory." — General, Douglas MacArthur

"The one seeking to demonstrate the power of spiritual realization in everyday affairs should believe in Divine guidance... and that everything in life is controlled by love, harmony, and peace." — Minister, Philosopher, and Author, Ernest Holmes

"Guide me, O thou great Redeemer,

pilgrim through this barren land."

— Hymnist and Writer of Poetry, William Williams

Finding God's way begins with giving up your will.

WITH HIS DIVINE GUIDANCE

With His Divine Guidance

I walk through the valley of fears

With His Divine Guidance

I walk through the valley of tears

With His Divine Guidance

I walk through the valley of pain

With His Divine Guidance

I walk through the valley of disappointments

With His Divine Guidance

I scale the mountain heights

Where I am permitted to see

The Unfolding of His Divine Plan

And may know that someday

I shall walk the Stairs to Heaven

And behold MY JESUS WHO WILL REVEAL

ALL ANSWERED PRAYERS!!!

— Written by Johanna Hobrath

Divine Guidance

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

(Psalm 23:1-3)

When I ask my children to follow my guidance, I do so because in a limited sense I know what is good for them. When God asks us to follow His guidance He knows what is best for us. We can disdain fasting because we love food and have so much of a good thing we lose the best thing—cleansing. We can ignore setting aside a day of rest because we enjoy activities only to find that stress rises unabated because we are seldom restored. We can refuse to humble ourselves because we are right and miss the blessing of inheriting the earth.

If God asks us to do something I suspect we are fools to ignore Him. Where He leads there is sure to be blessing even if our shortsighted eyes see nothing. When’s the last time you took inventory and evaluated who the real leader of your life is? I’m so convicted by the thought I have to simply confess before God, "Oh Lord, help me, help me. Give me the strength to do what you ask."

"As soon as the gates of the head are closed on our experiences we limit God, and by sealing our minds we limit our growth and the possibility of graduating in divine guidance." — Evangelist and Author. Oswald

Chambers in Christian Discipline

Listening To God's Voice

A former park ranger at Yellowstone National Park tells the story of a ranger leading a group of hikers to a fire lookout. The ranger was so intent on telling the hikers about the flowers and animals that he considered the messages on his two-way radio distracting, so he switched it off. Nearing the tower, the ranger was met by a nearly breathless lookout, who asked why he hadn't responded to the messages on his radio. A grizzly bear had been seen stalking the group, and the authorities were trying to warn them of the danger.

Any time we tune out the messages God has sent us, we put at peril not only ourselves, but also those around us. How important it is that we never turn off God's saving communication! — Harold M. Wiest; Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada

Divine Guidance

"And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle,

the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:

But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.

For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night,

in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys."

(Exodus 40:36,38)

God provided special guidance to the people of Israel during their years in the wilderness. Much of the time a supernatural cloud would linger in one place, signifying that the nation was to stay put. At other times, without any warning, it would move, guiding them to their next location.

For forty years this is how the people knew where to go and where to stay. Their travels were not determined by the strategies of their leaders or anyone's nomadic instincts. They also were not controlled by the seasons or their circumstances. God himself was their guide.

Throughout the Scriptures, we read of God's supernatural guidance. Through various means, he has communicated his directions to his people. Major transitions, military strategies, relational connections, and so on have been initiated and overseen by God.

We could discuss whether or not God guides people today as he did in Bible times, for there may be some reading this who have a faith in God, yet don't believe that he involves himself in human affairs in the same way as he did long ago. For others, the issue of God's guidance may be very foreign, simply because they are not even sure that there is a God. While both these issues are certainly relevant, I want to deal with another aspect.

Is divine guidance really necessary? The Bible might be full of some really intriguing stories of human encounters with the divine, but so what? Most of us believe that we can figure out life on our own. Even those who profess a belief in God actually strongly focus on the human natural sphere of life. Spiritual experiences may enhance our lives, but are they truly relevant day to day?

I would like to suggest that our focus, dependency, and satisfaction with the natural things, as well as disregard and skepticism about our need of divine guidance, is the result of the past one hundred and fifty years or so of Western thought that has secularized our minds. By secularized I mean that life is understood solely from a natural perspective. God and things supernatural, even when they are accepted as real in some way, are irrelevant to the most important areas of life.

The result of this way of thinking has led to the rejection of God from education, business, relationships, morality, politics, and almost every area of our existence except for what some people call religion (and even then…).

The Bible doesn't accept this viewpoint. On the contrary, most of the Bible is about the very day to day issues that I just listed.

We need to understand that we exist because of God and his decision to create us and create us with a mission. To keep in step with this mission we need his direct guidance. Therefore his guidance is absolutely essential. Just like the people of Israel in the wilderness, we don't really know where to go next without it. We need to understand that most of us neglect God's guidance, not because it is not available to us, but rather because we have been trained to ignore it. — Alan Gilman

Divine Guidance

A man, down on his luck, went into a church which catered to the "uppity". Spotting the man's dirty clothes a deacon, worried about the churches image, went to the man and asked him if he needed help. The man said, "I was praying and the Lord told me to come to this church." The deacon suggested that the man go pray some more and possibly he might get a different answer. The next Sunday the man returned. The deacon asked, "Did you get a different answer?" The man replied, "Yes I did. I told the Lord that they don't want me in that church and the Lord said, 'Don't worry about it son; I've been trying to get into that church for years and haven't made it yet."

Pastoral Call

A minister received a call from a church that offered him a salary four times what he was then receiving. Being a devout man, he spent much time in prayer trying to discern what God wanted him to do. One day a friend met the minister's young son on the street. "Do you know what your dad is going to do?" he asked. "Well," replied the youngster, "Dad's praying, but Mom's packing!"

A Little Boy

A little boy was standing with his father near the Grand Canyon.

"Let me take your hand," said the boy to his father.

"No, let me take yours," replied the wise father.

So God says He will take our hand.

(Jeremiah 31:32, Isaiah 41:10-13)

1 Corinthians 2:9-16

9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ.

Dear Friend,

What is your experience of seeking, receiving, and following Divine guidance?

Have you heard an inner voice guiding you?

Have you felt an invisible hand helping you?

Have you felt the Divine communicating to you through incidents and miracles?

Have you yearned for guidance from God, a Source greater than yourself?

Where He leads I'll follow (Video)

"Where He leads I'll follow

Follow all the way.

Where He leads I'll follow,