Show me, God

“The Lord will guide you always…” (Isaiah 58:11, NIV 1984).

Fred came up to me after a Bible study and grabbed me by the sleeve.


“Can I tell you something that happened this week?”


“Sure.”


“For the past two weeks, God has really been impressing on me that I should be witnessing for him more each day. On Thursday, I had finished taking care of one of my elderly patients and was about to leave the room, when I just felt compelled to turn back to him.


“I asked him, ‘Would you mind if I asked you if you would like for me to pray with you?’


“He looked up at me with tears in his eyes, ‘No one has ever prayed with me before.’


“He cried and I cried and then we prayed. God led me to that man.”

How does God tell us what He wants us to do?

How does He guide us to fit within His plan when we make decisions?

Twice in my life, God has spoken almost audibly to me, but that’s pretty rare and probably only comes to those who are pretty deaf to His Spirit’s more subtle voice.

Most of the time in my life, the Lord has led through normal circumstances in which I have used six principals to guide me:

1. The moral and ethical code of the Bible.

2. A great desire to serve His purpose with my life, rather than my own.

3. The wise counsel of fellow Christians.

4. A daily abiding in Him.

5. A constant listening for His whisper.

6. A trust that He will turn me if I take the wrong step.

Sometimes I feel His strong urging, just like Fred. Other times, I just take the next most reasonable step.

It’s not always easy and not always anxiety free. But when I follow these six principles faithfully, I’m convinced that I land on His plan when I take the next step.


Dear God,
Let me seek, trust and obey.
Amen