I think I often forget that the struggle to know your path is an eternal struggle; people throughout all ages have struggled with it and people will still continue to fight with it long after I’m gone. And even though I don’t like it, I am slowly coming to the realization that this isn’t a one-time event - a decision to follow God once and you’re done - but a life skill that I need to practice continually.
At some level, I want a period of testing and trial, with
the assumption that after it’s done then I don’t have to worry and risk
anymore. But love and relationship both take an extraordinary amount of risk.
And it’s not just me that is affected by my decisions anymore - it’s my wife
and family and all my employees. And in a few years, it will be even more
people affected. Being guided into all truth isn’t something I can hope at
getting right - I need to learn it and make a habit out of it. To that end,
here are some verses on guidance that I have been collecting with select commentary. May these verses uplift and encourage you as they have me.
Guidance Verses
Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Isaiah 30:21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.
James 1:5-6 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
Psalm 25:4-5 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
I think waiting on the Lord all day long teaches us priorities - who is in charge. After all, we are on His schedule and He is not on ours.
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
All things. This is so encouraging to me - the things I know I need to learn, the things I don’t know I need to learn; the things that are helpful with my ministry and the things that will keep my marriage strong; the things that will bring joy in the good times and the perseverance I need in the bad times.
Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
This is what I would refer to as a passive verse - one that if you look at it inappropriately will make you stop working at what you are doing. But that’s not the point - the point is that our efforts are fruitless without hearing from the Lord. Even if something looks like a sure deal in the natural, only God knows the future.
Isaiah 58:11 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Mozambique doesn’t look like a great place for business or opportunity - it is, in essence, a scorched place. But God has His own ways of working and His own plans. We can easily limit God by:
Trusting in our own eyesight over the vision of the Lord. Abraham let Lot choose whichever land he wanted because he knew the blessing wasn’t in the plot of land he chose but in his relationship with the Lord.
Needing an explanation before obeying. When we have to understand before we obey, we vastly limit the work God can do in our lives. We are no long open to being satisfied in scorched places.
Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
By testing… This is such a good explanation of faith. “By testing” - how else are you going to test whether something is from the Lord or not? How else are you going to discover God’s path? Is there any other faith outside of an experiential faith?
Psalm 25:9-10 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
I can’t decide whether I will be smart, or good in business, or always make the right decisions, or be able to judge the market. But I can determine to be humble. Yes, it’s a challenge but in every circumstance, it’s 100% possible.
Proverbs 20:24 A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?
I find many parallels between this and John 3:8 - The wind blows to-and-fro; you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with people born of the Spirit.
Everyone has 5 year plans. There are career paths that seem like good ideas. But if you follow the Lord you will deviate from the course most others take, and your way will not be clear from the world’s perspective.
Isaiah 48:17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.
Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Taken at face value, this means that sons of God aren’t chosen by belief or confession but by following God. This fits well with Jesus’s command to follow Him - this was the call to discipleship all over the gospels. Sadly, in the church, this is basically an elective - something that’s cool if you can do it but we don’t expect everyone to be able to hear God.
Psalm 73:23-24 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
John 5:30 I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
God sent me, I have got this far by following Him. What other option do I have? The alternative is to choose safety and put my faith in things that haven’t been trustworthy up until this point.
Jeremiah 1:7-8 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth;’ for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”
That is so powerful. As if wisdom is simply the choice to follow God and do what He says. “I am with you to deliver you.” - God knows we will face hardships. He knows the path will be difficult, and He’s calling us to it anyway.
Psalm 143:10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
“Level ground” - a straight path, a way that needs little faith because you see the way forward. I am consistently surprised at how often the Holy Spirit is brought up in the Psalms even before the infilling of the Spirit in Acts. Even under the old covenant, those closest to the Lord understood the deep importance of being led by the Spirit.
Psalm 31:3 For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me.
Job 33:12-16 “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you, for God is greater than man. Why do you contend against him, saying, ‘He will answer none of man's words?’ For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds, then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings,
Deuteronomy 8:18 You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
God doesn’t give us wealth. He gives us the power to get wealth.
1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Daily I need the Lord and His strength. For some interesting reason, He wants to be sought after. It’s not enough to just believe it - we need to seek it out.
John 10:3-4 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
Another verse saying that the most important trait of a disciple is that they follow the Lord. Do we as the church act like this is the most important trait?
Proverbs 24:30-34 I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
There is a delicate balance between resting in the Lord and being lazy and not doing what the Lord has told you to do. Like so many of the tensions in scripture, the people who need these verses on laziness are exactly the ones that know the verses about resting in the Lord and the people who need the verses of rest are exactly the people that are stuck in the hard-working verses.
Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.
We need to listen to the people God has called into our lives. This is a primary way God talks to us - don’t ignore the things others see in your life.
Psalm 119:133 Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
I love this verse because it deals with the process of following the Lord. Most of the other verses can appear that they are discussing a one-time decision. This talks about hesitations and issues on the way. I find that, personally, I make the right decisions but it’s keeping with the implementation that is the difficult thing for me - the trust and faith when the road gets difficult.
Psalm 48:14 That this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.
God will guide us forever. The is a promise that I need to hold on to - I don’t need to worry that God may stop talking to me or stop giving me ideas. I can trust Him in everything, and trust that He will continually guide me.
Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Being led by the Spirit is the most important thing. If God can lead you day by day, hour by hour, that is so much more effective than trying to obey the law and general, overarching guidelines.
Isaiah 33:6 And he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure.
We need that so much now, don’t we? Even much of the church is worried about how unstable these times are. But there is One that is stable, true, and unshakeable.
John 5:19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
1 Chronicles 10:13 So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance.
I don’t think we realize what a offense this sin is in the eyes of the Lord - to seek guidance from another; we are desperate to know the future, but like Saul, we don’t want to wait for God. He is taking too long - do we surrender to him and kneel at His throne until He speaks or do we carry through with our own plans and seek other advice and guidance?
