Divine guidance
God guides us in diverse ways. The principal and frequent way He guides us is through the ‘inward witness’ which is a burning sensation, or alert, on the inside of a person.
The inward witness was explained in more depth in “How God leads 2”. God also leads through other ways which are discussed in other teachings. The connection between faith and divine guidance is explained here.
Faith is important to Christians, as we practise it to please God (Hebrews 11:6).
Faith
Hebrews 11:1 reads; “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” (TLB)
Faith is an enabler. It enables us to realise our desires and expectations. It concerns things that are yet unseen but faith guarantees their future manifestation.
If only you have faith, you can move even the mountains. “For if you had faith even as small as a tiny mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move!’ and it would go far away. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matthew 17:20)
Many people in the Bible exercised faith and their desires and expectations were granted and they were satisfied. In our modern day, many believers exercise faith and get the results too.
However, some Christians have exercised faith and did not get results. There is a way divine guidance can enable your faith.
Divine guidance and Faith
Faith comes by hearing the word of God. Notice the word ‘hearing’. According to TLB (Romans 10:17): “Yet faith comes from listening to this Good News—the Good News about Christ.”
Listening and hearing are what this scripture prescribes. When you listen, you get to hear and when you hear (from God, The Holy Spirit) you stamp ‘certainty’ on the WORD. I proffer this approach to you: add hearing the WORD of God in your faith walk.
What does it mean to hear the WORD. As you seek God concerning a subject matter, ask Him to give you a WORD and when you hear that WORD, it becomes the seal of certainty.
When the Holy Spirit specifically gives you a WORD for a specific situation, it means that he has led you to the WORD and solution. The WORD that the Holy Spirit gives is ‘live’.
According to Hebrews 4:12 (TLB) “whatever God says to us is full of living power”. It is this living power that performs the WORD. The guarantee is that the power of God will never fail.
Next time you face a challenge, try not to apply scripture using your mental understanding alone.
Try adding the leading of the Holy Spirit and it will enhance your faith and make the scripture you are standing upon to work for you.
Sometimes we use scripture and get disappointing results. It could be that we are using the wrong scripture for the occasion.
God the Holy Spirit who is the author of the Bible, who knows what you are facing more than you do, can give you the right WORD for that situation.
Look at it this way: the devil tempted Jesus by taking him to the pinnacle of the temple.
- The devil said to Jesus “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6). Notice that the devil said “it is written”! The devil actually quoted the Bible to Jesus.
- “Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” Jesus quoted the Bible too.
Both the devil and Jesus quoted scripture; however, the scripture quoted by Jesus prevailed. It is a matter of quoting the right scripture at the right time.
Hence, I suggest you learn to listen to Jesus (The Holy Spirit) to give you a scripture to use while exercising faith.
When He gives you a scripture, it prevails and accomplishes great results because it becomes the right scripture for that circumstance.
Two people may face a similar problem, yet God may lead them to their solution in different ways. His guidance for you might differ from his guidance for your fellow brother, sister or colleague.
In this regard, do not over-copy others who are following God. Learn to hear God for yourself. Sometimes God may want to take you on a different pathway.
Peter and John were key pioneer apostles and best friends, yet God said He can choose to lead them in different directions (John 21:21-22).
It is therefore wise not to over-depend on other Christians for divine guidance. Learn to hear God for yourself.
Another reason why it is better not to over-depend on other Christians for divine guidance is that they can make mistakes.
For example, some Christians said that God revealed to them that Joe Biden was going to win the 2020 presidential election in the US. That way, they felt led (divine guidance) to support and vote for Joe Biden.
On the other side, some Christians said God showed them that Donald Trump the incumbent president was going to be returned for a second term.
This group, therefore, called for people to support and vote for Donald Trump.
I do not want to be political and do not want to side with either group. However, the point is, two groups of people were saying different things, and both laid claim to divine guidance.
Now, if you are an American and wanted to side with God in terms of the election, which of the two groups should you follow? At face value, one group was mistaken.
It is therefore better for each Christian to learn to hear God for himself/herself. That way, you will be able to compare notes with others as opposed to depending on them to hear God for you.
Actually, God expects us to operate that way (Romans 8:14).
In another teaching, I will address the issue of mistakes in divine guidance. Suffice to say here that divine guidance is available to us and it can help our faith.
I encourage you to continue to exercise faith and to add the leading of the Holy Spirit in this regard. By listening to Him while praying and exercising faith, He will guide us to the truth/WORD (John 16:13) that is particularly needed, and that way, we will see more success in our faith walk.
John 16:13 particularly states that “He will tell you about the future” (TLB). God can reveal to you the final outcome of a situation.
That way, you know in advance; and thus actually say that faith “is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” (Hebrews 11:1 TLB).
Prayer for divine guidance
God (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit) speaks with his children but many do not hear Him. It is my desire that you begin to hear Him clearly.
You may want to pray a simple prayer and ask God, in your own words and sentences, to speak to you clearly and regularly, via the inward witness and in other ways He deems fit. Remind God in your prayer that:
- All Christians, including you, should be led by Him (Romans 8:14)
- His sheep, including you, are meant to hear His voice (John 10:16&27)
- The steps of the righteous are ordered/led by the Lord (Psalm 37:23)
- When you are about to take a wrong turn, you will hear a voice saying, this is the way (Isaiah 30:21)