Guidance

Devotion 2 - Guidance

The word of God leaves us in no doubt that we are created through Him and for Him and His glory alone.

Col.1:16 - “All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col 1:16).

Romans 11:36 – “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

 

We exist because of God, and we are here only for the purposes of God. There is therefore not one person who is without a purpose in God.

Eph.2:10 - “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”

While no one has been saved by virtue of good works, the born-again believer is expected to perform good works. In attempting to identify our individual calling and destiny, we cannot neglect to ask ourselves: What kind of good works is Paul referring to? The `good works’ spoken of by Paul are described as the good works that God has prepared beforehand--even before we came into existence on this earth--for each one of us individually. God is the designer. Each one of us are specially designed for a special work. We are all designed for a special Destiny ordained by God.

God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5).

Paul told Timothy not to be ashamed of the Gospel, through which God “has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began”(2 Tim. 1:9).

Samuel, Jeremiah, Samson, Jacob, John the Baptist, Paul and Jesus Himself were all prophesied of before they came into the world. Hence we see that prior to our conversion, and even before we were born, God had already mapped out a spiritual plan for us to fulfil His highest purpose. In other words, God has a distinctive blueprint for every life.

We are not required to devise work for our own hands or to carve a path for what we would like our spiritual careers to be. Rather, our responsibility as believers is to find His will for us and to obey it. We only need to yield ourselves to His plan.

 Eccl.7:13 - “See the way God does things and fall into line” (TLB).

Recognising this truth delivers us from fretting, and ensures that our lives will be of maximum glory to Him, of most blessing to others, and of greatest reward to ourselves. When we depart from this earth, we will stand before our Lord Jesus and be required to give an account to Him of the extent to which we have fulfilled His will for us in our lives.

Rom.14:12 - “So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God”

Whether His call to us is to minister to large audiences with the manifestation of God’s power through signs and wonders, or to be a witness in the marketplace or simply to be a faithful housewife to nurture the kids; we need, firstly, to reckon the importance of this call, and what it means to walk in it. 

How many of us have perhaps lived our lives carelessly so far, looking to our relationship with God as essentially a passport to earthly blessings? How desperately we need a personal revelation of the call of God on our lives, for it is only upon receiving such a revelation that Paul and many other great men and women of God were strengthened to sacrifice earthly comfort and satisfaction for the heavenly reward ahead.

It is only when we believe in and look forward to the prize at the finishing line that the race and the struggles along the journey take on meaning. Peter clearly instructs us to “be diligent in making our calling and election sure, for if we do these things, we will never stumble” (2 Pet 1:10). The key to a consistent and conscientious Christian walk is therefore to know and be certain of our call in the Lord. Without this knowledge, there is no vision to guide us progressively onwards our journey to God. We will live on this earth with a tourist mentality rather a missionary mentality.

Fear of God & Guidance

Ps.25: 12; 14 – “Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses… The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant”

 

The question itself should provoke self-examination. Gospel privileges are not automatic for every believer. In our sincere walk with the Lord, we might not hear any voice, see any vision, had no dream and receive any directive prophecy. It’s perfectly fine; the question is whether the Lord is the Lord of your life and the shepherd of your souls. Another words, do we live a God-fearing life. As we do, He promises to leads and show us the way He chooses for us and even shares His secrets with us.

 

What a comfort to know that the Lord directs our choice, and makes our free will to do His good will! God does not violate our will, but leaves much to our choice; nevertheless, when we desire to make our will His will, He instructs our wills, and so we choose that which is well pleasing in His sight.

 

One of the greatest benefits of walking in the Fear of the Lord is that it leads us to fulfil the very plan and purpose of God for our lives. It leads us into our destiny, our inheritance. When we meet Jesus face to face, we can hear Him say, “Well done, good & faithful servant, welcome into My kingdom”!