We’ve been looking at two verses that are found in Psalm 25:4-5 which say,
“Show me the right path, O Lord;
point out the road for me to follow.
Lead me by your truth and teach me,
for you are the God who saves me.
All day long I put my hope in you.”
I shared last week that what I love about these verses is the fact that the words are so practical. Show me, point out the road, lead me, teach me. It’s not complicated to ask the Lord to help us know what to do and where to go. But so often we make it complicated and then we become discouraged and frustrated.
So, I encouraged all of us who are looking for direction and leading from the Lord concerning a certain area of our life, to spend this past week praying fervently for Him to show us, teach us and guide us. As we prayed, we were to write down any feelings that came to our mind. Doing this helps us begin to figure out what the Lord wants us to do.
It would be so much easier if the Lord would just call us up on the phone and lay out His plan for us…wouldn’t it? But since that probably isn’t going to happen, we need to learn ways to hear His voice.
My dad was a minister, and he was pastoring a church in Indiana when I was in 5th grade. He was contacted by a church in California to be their pastor and I remember my dad immediately saying NO…he was not moving his family across the country. Then he said, “God would have to write it in the sky for me to go there”. Well, it wasn’t long, and we were packed up and moving to Los Angeles…and none of us ever saw that handwriting in the sky. I guess the Lord must have used something other than sky writing to change my Dad’s feelings about moving, so he would go where the Lord wanted him to go.
I know that in my life, I have sometimes prayed for direction and then said, “Lord, open the doors I’m supposed to go through…and slam shut the ones I’m not supposed to go through.” And sometimes that works. But we know that sometimes discernment is needed as to whether we should walk through a door or not. Paul showed that in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 when he said:
“When I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door of opportunity for me. But I had no peace of mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet arrived with a report from you. So I said good-bye and went on to Macedonia to find him.”
In this situation, the Lord opened a door…but Paul didn’t have peace about going through it...so he didn’t.
Sometimes we try fleeces. I have been known to throw out a fleece at times to get direction. Lord, if you do such and such…I’ll know I’m supposed to move forward. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t…just like when my dad wanted writing in the sky. Sometimes I think I use a fleece because I already know what the Lord wants me to do, but I really don’t want to do it. So, I figure throwing out a fleece will be a distraction and I won’t have to obey...at least for now.
Again, I think we often make it much more difficult than it really is to know what God wants us to do and where He wants us to go. The scripture I shared earlier, 2 Corinthian 2, said it. God opened a door, Paul had no peace of mind, so he left. He based his decision not in circumstances, but the feeling he had, which I have no doubt was fueled by prayer.
If we look how the Lord spoke to the apostles in the New Testament, we see how many times they acted by how they felt. They spent time in prayer and that was so crucial in directing their feelings and consequently then their actions. Maybe they used logic, maybe common sense. It seems that the apostles prayed, and then did what they felt was best.
So, I’m writing all this to make this point…if you are wanting direction from the Lord today…make sure you aren’t making it more difficult than it really is. First of all, make sure you are spending time in prayer. If you aren’t communicating with the Lord…you will never know what you are supposed to do. Look at it this way. If you never spend any time talking with your spouse or your children, or even your friends…how are you ever going to know anything about them? There is no way you will know what is going on in their mind and heart if you don’t spend quality and quantity time with them.
And the same is true with the Lord. If you don’t spend time with Him…you never will have any idea of what you are supposed to do. Be sincere. Commit your life to Him. Tell Him you’ll do whatever He wants. And don’t make prayer as the last resort…make it your first plan of action.
And then…the feelings that you get when you pray and those things that you wrote down this past week, act on them, believing that it’s God’s plan for you. Trust Him enough to give you the feelings you need to act. Take a step. If it doesn’t work out…it usually isn’t the end of the world and more often than not…mistakes show us more of what we need to know to go in another direction.
Show me, teach me, guide me. He just wants us to ask and I believe He will give us direction through our thoughts and feelings…if we have fervently spent time in prayer.
Let’s begin by going to the one who designed us. Because I believe if we do, we will soon find ourselves at peace with the Lord and functioning as He planned.
Quick health update – Thank you SO much for your prayers. I have shared that there is a brand-new medicine available for my lung disease…but the cost is $88,000 a year. Well, because we serve an amazing God…this past week I was approved for the medicine and had it in my hands within 48 hours…for free. I didn’t have to pay anything! I was so blown away. It definitely won’t be a quick fix…they say it takes 4-5 months to see any improvement. But since we serve the Great Physician…we are praying I will see positive results sooner
I’m praying with you!
ReplyDeleteThank you SO much!
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