God's Guidance

How would you like God to guide you through life personally? Did you know that God will not automatically give you direction and guidance, just because you are a Christian. He tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 that there are some prereqisites to gaining His guidance and leadership in our lives, some things that He requires of us.

First, He says that we must trust Him with all of our heart. No one will follow God very far who doesn't trust Him first, especially when heads off into unfamiliar territory. There is one thing that I can guarantee about God's leadership: He will take you out of your comfort zone. I didn't say "maybe" I said that He "will" take us out of our comfort zone. If we don't trust Him up front, we will not do what He asks because it might be intimidating or because it might require us to change . God won't take one step to guide us if we can't trust Him. It would be a waste of His time because we would bail out before we even got started.

Second, He says that we must not rely on our own understanding. God is not going to guide people who have it all figured out and know the way without Him. God starts off in one direction and we yell at God, "No, this is the way; I want to go this way!" It's amazing how many people come to me for coaching and counsel whose lives are really in a mess, but they know everything and have everything figured out. We can't have our own plan for life and follow God's plan at the same time. We are going to have to lay down our stuff before God takes one step forward to guide us.

Third, He says that we must recognize Him in all we do. If God is going to do the leading then He must get the credit and recognition for His involvement. Most of us want God's power, provision, and presence. But we soon forget where it came from and that the reason we have these wonderful blessings is due to God's grace and loving care. God leads us to the treasure, and we live as if He had nothing to do with it. He refuses to guide those who will not acknowledge Him.

God wants to guide us and provide for us, but there are some prerequisites. Let's trust Him; let's lay our stuff down; let's recognize Him in all we do. Then He will be happy to shepherd us unreservedly.