Divine Guidance 1. 5

"And He shall direct your paths." Meet the three conditions mentioned above—and here is the sure consequence. The need for being directed by God is real and pressing. Left to ourselves we are no better off than a rudderless ship or a motor-car without a steering wheel. It is not without reason, that the Lord's people are so often termed "sheep," for no other creature is so apt to stray or has such a propensity to wander. The Hebrew word for "direct" means "to make straight." We are living in a world where everything is crooked: sin has thrown everything out of joint, and in consequence, confusion, worse, confoundedness, abounds all around us. A deceitful heart, a wicked world, and a subtle Devil—are ever seeking to lead us astray and compass our destruction. How necessary it is, then, for God to "direct our paths."

What is meant by "He shall direct your paths"? It means, He will make clear to me the course of duty. Let this be firmly grasped: God's "will" always lies in the path of duty, and never runs counter thereto. Much needless uncertainty and perplexity would be spared if only this principle were steadily recognized. When you feel a strong desire or "prompting" to shirk a plain duty—you may be assured it is a temptation from Satan, and not the "leading" of the Holy Spirit. For example, it is contrary to God's revealed will for a woman to be constantly attending meetings to the neglect of her children and home. It is shirking his responsibility for the husband to go off alone in the evenings, even in religious luxuriation, and leave his tired wife to wash the dishes and put the children to bed. It is a sin for a Christian employee to read the Scripture or "speak to people about their souls" during office or business hours.

The difficulty arises, when it appears that we have to choose between two or more duties, or when some important change has to be made in our circumstances. There are many people who think they want to be guided by God when some crisis arrives or some important decision has to be made; but few of them are prepared to meet the requirements as intimated in our opening paragraphs. The fact is, that GOD was rarely in their thoughts before the emergency arose. They were not concerned about pleasing Him while things were going smoothly for them. But when difficulty and trouble confronts them, when they are at their own wits end how to act, they suddenly become very pious, turn to the Lord, earnestly ask Him to direct them, and make His way plain before their face.

But God cannot be imposed upon in such a manner. Usually such people make a rash decision and bring themselves into still greater difficulties, and then they attempt to console themselves with "Well, I sought God's guidance." Ah, my reader, God is not to be mocked like that! If we ignore His claims upon us when the sailing is pleasant, we cannot count upon Him delivering us when the storm comes. The One we have to do with is holy and He will not set a premium upon Godlessness (called by many, "carelessness"), even though we howl like beasts when in anguish (Hosea 7:14). On the other hand, if we diligently seek grace to walk with God day by day, regulating our ways by His commandments, then we may rightfully count upon His aid in every emergency which arises. But how is the conscientious Christian to act when some emergency confronts him?

Suppose he stands at the parting of the ways: two paths, two alternatives, are before him, and he knows not which to choose: what must he do?

First, let him heed that most necessary word, which as a rule of general application is ever binding upon us, "he who believes shall not make haste" (Isaiah 28:16). To act from a sudden impulse never befits a child of God, and to rush ahead of the Lord is sure to involve us in painful consequences. "The Lord is good unto those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord" (Lam. 3:25, 26). To act in haste, generally means that afterward we shall repent at leisure. O how much each of us needs to beg the Lord to daily lay His cooling and quietening hand upon our feverish flesh!

Second, seek unto the Lord for Him to empty your heart of every wish of your own. It is impossible for us to sincerely pray "May Your will be done," until our own will has, by the power of the Holy Spirit, been brought into complete subjection to God. Just so long as there is secret (but real)preference in my heart, my judgment will be biased. While my heart is really set upon the attainment of a certain object, then I am only mocking God when I ask Him to make His way plain before my face; and I am sure to misinterpret all His providences, twisting them to fit my own desire. If an obstacle is in my path, I shall then regard it as a "testing of faith." If a barrier be removed, I at once jump to the conclusion that God is "undertaking" for me, when instead He may be testing, on the eve of giving me up to my own "heart's lusts" (Psalm 81:12).

This is a point of supreme importance for those who desire their steps to be truly "ordered by the Lord." We cannot discern His best for us—while the heart has its own preference. Thus it is imperative that we ask God to empty our hearts of all personal preferences, to remove any secret and set desire of our own. But often it is far from easy to take this attitude before God, the more so if we are not in the habit of seeking grace to mortify the flesh. By nature each of us wants his own way, and chafes against every curb placed upon him. But just as a photographic plate must be a blank if it is to receive the impression of a picture upon it, so our hearts must be freed from their personal bias if God is to work in us "both to will and to do ofHis good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13).

If you find that as you continue waiting upon God the inward struggle between the "flesh" and the "Spirit" continues, and you have not reached the point where you can honestly say, "Have Your own way, Lord," then a season of fasting is in order. In Ezra 8:21 we read, "Then I proclaimed a fast there—that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of Him a right way for us, and for our little ones." This is written for our instruction, and even a glance at it suffices to show it is pertinent to our present inquiry. Nor is fasting a religious exercise peculiar to Old Testament times, for in Acts 13:3 we are told that before Barnabas and Saul were sent forth on their missionary journey by the church at Antioch, "When they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." There is nothing meritorious in fasting—but it expresses humility of soul andearnestness of heart.

The next thing is to humbly and sincerely acknowledge to God our ignorance, requesting Him not to leave us to ourselves. Tell Him frankly that you are perplexed and know not what to do, and that you deserve to be left in this woeful plight. But plead before Him His own promise, and beg Him for Christ's sake to now make it good to you: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind" (James 1:5, 6). Ask Him to grant the wisdom so much needed, that you may judge rightly, that you may discern clearly what will promote yourspiritual welfare, and therefore be most for His glory.

"Commit your way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass" (Psalm 37:5). In the interval of waiting, confer not with flesh and blood. If you go to fellow-Christians for advice, most probably no two of them will agree, and their discordant counsel will only confuse you. Instead of looking to man for help, "Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving" (Col. 4:2). Be on the look-out for God's answer: mark attentively each movement of His providence, for as a straw in the air indicates which way the wind is blowing—so the hand of God may often be discerned by a spiritual eye in what are trifling incidents to others. "As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you" (2 Sam. 5:24).

Finally, remember that we need not only light from the Lord to reveal unto us our duty in particular cases—but, that being obtained, we also need Hispresence to accompany us, so that we may be enabled to rightly follow the path in which He bids us go. Moses realized this when he said to the Lord "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here" (Exo. 33:15). If we have not the presence of God with us in an undertaking—that is, His approval upon it, His assistance in it, and His blessing upon it—then we shall find it a snare if not a curse to us.

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