Five ways God guides you (Part 1)

 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. – Psalm 32:8

Introduction

God designed you with a purpose in mind. God loves you. He has a specific, unique and glorious destiny for you. He promises to guide you. God’s purpose for you is bigger than your mistakes. I have made many mistakes in my life, but God has not stopped guiding me.

When we go on a journey by car we use a GPS. When we take a wrong turn, it reroutes us. But it never gives up until we reach our destination. You can ignore it or switch it off, but if you follow it, it makes your journey more enjoyable and peaceful. Eventually, it will say ‘You have reached your desti­nation.’ Of course, this is not a perfect analogy. God is not a machine but a person who is with us on the journey. God wants to communicate with you and has promised to guide you.

There are five main ways in which God guides us (the five CSs):

• Commanding Scripture (the Bible)

• Compelling Spirit (the Holy Spirit)

• Counsel of the Saints (the church)

• Common Sense (rea­son)

• Circumstantial Signs (providence).

In each of today’s passages, we see first something general about the way in which God guides us, and then specific examples of each of these ‘five CSs’.

a) Promise of guidance –

Psalm 48:9-14

God promises to guide us all the way through our lives: ‘He will be our guide even to the end’. But how do you receive this guidance? The secret is a close relationship with God. It involves spending time in his presence meditat­ing on His ‘unfailing love’.

1. Counsel of the Saints

Guidance is not an individual activity. It is significant that the psalmist says, ‘Within your temple… we meditate on your unfailing love’. The temple was where the people of God came together to worship God. We receive guidance in the context of commu­nity. On our own, we can sometimes get things very wrong (The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But he who heeds counsel is wise – Proverbs 12:15). God can speak to others, as well as to us, and it is always wise to seek advice about major decisions. Lord, thank you for your promise to be my guide and that you guide me in the context of the community of your people.

a) Model of

guidance – Luke 19:45-

20:26

As in every other area of life, Jesus is our model for how to be guided by God. Living under God’s guidance does not lead to a trouble-free life. Jesus was constantly under attack from the ‘religious police’ of his day. He did not shy away from controversy and con­frontation.

Indeed, in the parable of the tenants Jesus shows that God’s servants can ex­pect trouble. The servants were beat­en, sent away empty-handed, treated shamefully, wounded and thrown out. When the son was sent they ‘killed him’.

Divine guidance led Jesus to the cross. However, it also led to the resurrection. Behind it all was God’s purpose and his victory. What Jesus did had the appearance of failure but Jesus accomplished more in his life, death and resurrection than any other person in history. Of course, much is said in the New Testament about the way in which God guided Jesus. In the passage for today we see:

Rev. Dr Joyce Aryee, the author