God is Our Guide
How and why does God guide you?
Verse of the Day
‘He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.’
Today’s Devotional
What do you think of when you hear the word “guide”? For me, it makes me think of the dive master when we are scuba diving. Before the dive, he briefs us and tells (generally) what to expect. He usually wears something colorful or unique so that we can quickly find him underwater. Then he is who we follow for the entire dive. He keeps us safe, keeps us together, often points out cool sea life that we would otherwise miss, and gets us back safely.
As we are learning to follow God, there is a very human desire to know all of the steps, the details of where we are going, how long it will take, what detours will happen along the way, and the “why” behind it all. There is also the fact that God could explain more ahead of time, but we would not really understand until we experience it. Just like with the diving example, the dive master can explain everything very thoroughly, but I must experience the underwater world for myself to really understand.
Why does God guide us? This verse tells me that God guides me in order to bring honor to His name. If we look at another example in the Bible of God guiding, we can see this hold true. During the Exodus story, God guided the Israelites with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. This leaves no room for doubt that is was God doing the guiding. This miraculous guidance brought honor and glory to God.
So how do we allow God to be our guide today, when there is no cloud or fire (or shepherd or dive master) visibly leading our way? The things that come to my mind are faith, relationship, and learning to pay attention. According to John 15, I must remain attached to the vine, which is Jesus. I do that by obeying, remaining in His Word, and learning to love others that way Jesus loves me. I am definitely going to need a guide for that.
What I am learning is that God wants me to follow where He guides. He wants me to trust Him enough to take the next step without knowing where we are headed. He wants me to choose to follow wherever He guides. He wants me to let go of myself and my desires and live my life for His glory. God sent Jesus to be our guide for the best way to be human. God gave us His Word to be our guidebook, teaching us who He is and how to follow Him. God sends other people into our lives who have been journeying with Him longer to help show us the way.
God can guide me all day every day in any number of ways, but I must choose whether or not follow Him. If I decide I want to follow Him, I need to be looking for His guidance. And when I need help knowing how to follow Him, I ask. And then actively listen and pay attention. God is a very good guide. How are we doing at following?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How has God guided you in the past?
Where do you need help today knowing how to follow God’s guidance?
How can you trust Him to take one small step in the direction He is leading you?