The issue of Guidance, the hearing of God’s guiding voice and discovering his personal will for your life is undoubtedly a very popular subject.
Most Christians have an admirable desire to know and obey God’s personal will for their lives.
Most Christians are insecure in their understanding of God’s will and uncertain of their ability to hear God’s voice.
Whenever two people begin to walk together, they must either decide ahead of time the direction they will travel, or decide who will guide the other. In our walk with God, the direction is set by the Lord and we are to walk with him.
Psalm 32:8-10
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the man who trusts in him.
Our Christian life is described as an intimate, interactive walk with God. Part of our daily interaction with God involves his guidance.
We are encouraged not to be like the horse or the mule that need a bit and bridle to control them as they have no understanding of the masters will. God is looking for us to heed his voice on a voluntary basis in our lives (coming to the Lord).
We see that there are two parts a promise in verse 8 and the condition inverse 9
God’s part = promises to instruct, teach, counsel and watch over you
Your part = to come to God, yield to him and obey his guidance.
It is the condition which activates the promise of verse 8.
Psalm 73:23-26 (Isaiah 42:16 and 58:11)
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
It is God’s promise to us that he will walk with us and this guidance is a proof that you are growing in maturity.
Romans 8:14
14 …because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
John 10:14-16;27
14″I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
Jesus is describing a quality of relationship between himself and you that is likened to the intimate bond of a shepherd and his sheep. So not only does Jesus say “I know them”, he also says, “they know me”
The word “know” here is used in the sense of affectionate regard or love. Here it implies such a knowledge of our wants our dangers and our character and overall a deep interest in our welfare.
John 10:2-5
2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.
3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
Jesus makes 4 very clear points here in this scripture:-
The sheep listen to the sheperd’s voice
The shepherd guides his sheep individually (by name) not just as a flock
The shepherd leads by going out ahead of them and the sheep responds by following
The sheep follow the shepherd because they know his voice.
So we see Jesus has described his nature as that of a shepherd and we are the sheep with the important characteristic of following the shepherd.
Psalm 23:1-4
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
A shepherd will guide his sheep with his voice and his guidance is expressed in two other ways.
The Staff – submitting to the shepherd’s authority (John 15:10, Job 22:21) and
The Rod – submitting to the shepherd’s discipline (Hebrews 12:7-11)
God will use both the authority of his word and the discipline of circumstances to keep us on track in his will. To walk in guidance then is to simply have one’s ear attuned to the way God leads and being ready to alter course the moment his leading becomes clear.
Look at verses 3-4 again, in verse
3 “He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
When we think of God’s guidance, we tend to think of him leading us into good things like those green pastures or beside still waters. Some of us have this natural aversion to the valley of the shadow of death even assuming us that God will never lead us there. Sometimes the paths of righteousness will take you right into and through the valley of the shadow of death. It is not always that everything around you will be sweetness and light. There is though one major difference of finding yourself in the valley of shadow of death because you have strayed and finding yourself there because you have been walking in the paths of righteousness. The difference which makes all the difference in the world is “for you are with me”.
As we have seen throughout John 10, this characteristic of listening to and following the shepherd’s voice is repeated over and over. Now most of us would agree that sheep are not the most intelligent of animals, yet Jesus uses them as examples of how we ought to be guided by God.
How can a sheep know the shepherd’s voice?
How can a sheep recognize that one voice amongst all the others?
Imagine someone you know very well. Now what if you were in a crowded room with your eyes blindfolded just listening to the din of conversation, would you be able to pick out the persons voice amid the crowd? They chances are yes you would, why? because you recognize the voice from years of hearing that voice.
It is the same way with God’s guidance. How do you recognize the voice of God? It being constantly exposed to the voice of God. This is why much emphasis is placed on reading the Word of God. If we are constantly being exposed daily to the Word of God you will begin to recognize the voice of God.
Galatians 5:18
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
Being led by the Spirit is not a feelings based experience. In fact if you are chopping and changing your direction regularly, this is a sure sign that you are not being led by the Spirit.
John 16 v 13
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
The Holy Spirit is described as counsellor; He fulfils the same role as Jesus who walked this earth as counsellor. Jesus himself declares that another counsellor will be with us forever(John 14:16).
Psalm 143 v 10
10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.
Being led by the Spirit is about learning to do God’s will. It is not just about whether you are to apply to this job or that job or whether you are to buy or rent a house. These decisions are a by-product of being led by the Spirit. It is about being sensitive to the Leading of God’s Spirit so that you know his will for your life both the “bigger picture” his overall will, and the “smaller picture” his will on a daily basis.
So how do we discover God’s will?
Colossians 1:9
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
Paul declares to the Colossians that he has not stopped praying for them, asking God to fill them with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Notice God’s knowledge of His is not given out in half measures. Paul prays ALL spiritually wisdom and understanding. This is also reflected in Paul’s letter to the Phillippians (Phil. 1:9-10).
Our walk with God results in an abundance of knowledge and depth of insight as we walk with God, He reveals himself, his heart and his will for your life. The result of this is “an ability to discern what is best” this is what lies at the heart of guidance.
Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship.
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Paul shares with us a simple three-fold way of knowing God’s will for your life.
Verse 1 – Offer your bodies as living sacrifices to God
Verse 2 – Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world
Verse 2 – be transformed by the renewing of your mind
Ephesians 4:22-24 also corresponds with Romans 12:1-2
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
You were taught – to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness
You were taught – to put off your old self which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires and
You were taught – to be made new in the attitudes of your minds
It is very clear from the bible that without repentance i.e. the putting off the old self and the putting on of the new self you can never know the will of God for your life and without a transformation (the renewing of one’s mind) there can be no guidance.
God is not interested in guiding us by remote control nor will he shout His guidance from a distance. It is only when we walk with Him that He will guide. As you walk with the Lord, the Holy Spirit renews your mind and in the process of transforming your thinking, He leads you on the path He has set for you.
It is God’s desire and plan for every believer to know His will on two levels.
The general will of God
1Thessallonians 4:1-12
3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;
Paul reminds the Christians, we instructed you how to live in order to please God and lists some expressions of life that pleases God. Pauls says it is God’s will for you to avoid sexual immorality. So is that something that we need to ask God about or do you need to pray to see if it his will for you to avoid sexual immorality because this is God’s general will for our lives revealed in God’s Word. So God’s will in such matters and others have already been clearly spelled out in scripture. God’s general will for your life is revealed in two ways
Commands (John 14:15, 21, 23, 24)
Promises (II Corinthians 1:20, II Peter 1:3-4)
The specific will of God
There are times when we need to know God’s will for specific situations. God has promised to guide us at these times also. In order for this to happen there are 4 requirements.
You must desire God’s will – Psalm 24:4-5
You must not rely on your own reasoning Proverbs 3:5-6
This does not mean that we commit intellectual suicide. God has given us a mind and common sense to make judgements in every day situations, but God will sometimes as we follow Him call upon us to override what others would call common sense. These specific situations call for steps of faith based upon a clear word from God.
You must trust God – Psalm 37:3-5
You must lay down your own will – Luke 22:34
Special Principles of Guidance
Be obedient to God’s guidance before you seek the specific guidance.
The general will of God for your life is already set.
Are you walking in God’s general will?
Are you fellowshipping with other Christians? (Hebrews 10:25)
Are you being generous with your finances? (II Corinthians 8:7)
Are you sharing your faith with others?
Are you walking in integrity in the world? (I Peter 3:8-9)
God is not expecting us to be perfect but He is expecting us to be obedient to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in the areas He is currently addressing.
When things are unclear, go back to what you already know.
If you are unclear about God’s specific leading in a situation, go back to his general guidance. Be active in your Christian faith rather than passively wait for God to tell you what to do.
Regardless of how God is leading you, keep moving forward.
There are definitely times when God tells you to wait and not act until He guides, but unless you get specific directions from God to wait, always that you are to keep moving forward in God’s will. Don’t be passive. If does not appear to be giving specific directions then do what you know you should do.
God does not lead on to step 2 before you have taken step 1
If God has already directed you to do something but you are hesitating to do it, or procrastinating, don’t expect that God will lead you on. God requires obedience guidance before He gives fresh guidance.
Seek the Lord with a quieted soul
Quietness is an important ingredient in hearing God’s voice (Isaiah 30:15) God generally does not try to compete for your attention over a noisy life with problems that shout at us and distractions of the world which drown out the still quiet voice of God. Out of these quiet times, the gentle whisper of God’s voice will speak to our spirits.
Be neutral before the Lord
You must be neutral before God concerning the decisions you need to make. If you have already set your heart on one option, then God’s guidance is short-circuited. Come to God with an open heart and be willing to do whatever He tells you to do.
Balance the subjective and the objective
Subjective = arising from within oneself. It involves the world of feelings that are perceived within a person.
Objective = Arising from outside oneself. It involves the world of observation what we see that exists outside of a person.
The statement “I itch” is subjective. It is a personal feeling that cannot be verified from outside. People only know you itch based upon your statement “I itch”.
The statement “I have a rash” is objective. It is not based on inward feelings but an outward fact that can be verified. I.e. a doctor can look at a person’s skin and see immediately whether there is a rash or not.
So putting the two together I itch and I have a rash, there is a now a double confirmation. So it is with God’s guidance but the subjective and objective compliment and confirm each other.
Ask God to confirm His guidance
The more important the decision, the confirmation God will give. But we must not go overboard. You do not need 20 confirmations. At the most 3 or 4 and even then the Lord may stop and simply wait for you to act upon what He has already directed you to do.
Let the peace of God be the final decider
The Lord has promised His peace (John 14:27) and we have been instructed to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts (Col. 3:15). This peace is a clear indication of God’s guiding presence, a stamp of approval upon your walk with God. If you feel a check or alarm in your spirit, this is an indication that Lord has put up a red light and you must stop. But if you have God’s peace plus other confirmations of his guidance, then this is an indication that God has given you a green light and so you should move forward.
Ask for wisdom not just for guidance
Guidance means that God will dictate each and every step. Although God does and will do this, He is also desiring for us to learn how to step forward in the wisdom that He brings.
I Corinthians 2:16
16″For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?”[a] But we have the mind of Christ.
We have the mind of Christ when we are one on heart and mind with Christ. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just reveal the mind of Christ to us, He conforms us to Christ’s thinking. In John 15:7, we have the ground rules of prayer and knowing God’s will.
“Remain in me”
As we spend quality time with our Lord and we see His word planted in our hearts, we will learn the will of God. We must understand that the purpose of God centers in Christ and all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him.
Our relationship with Jesus is the foundation upon which brings His guidance. It is only in our walk with the Lord that we are led by the Lord.
