Walk of Life- Day 06, February 2021- Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs – BLESSED!.
THE BLESSING OF GUIDANCE
Proverbs 6:22 “When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.”
The greed of man has been growing bigger and bigger day by day. This greed is making him blind, to appreciate the blessings which he has already got. Neglecting the existing blessings, people are sad thinking of something which is not theirs. The problem with many of us is not that we are not blessed, it is that we fail to see the blessings that we already have.
Praise the Lord Jesus, for giving us His Holy Word, that is the Holy Bible which speaks of His blessings for us. When we take a moment and look into His word counting our blessings, naming them one by one, we might run out of time. One of such blessings is the ‘the blessing of guidance’.
There was a man who was very fond of exploring new things in life. He wanted to visit many places. One day he went to a fort which belonged to a very ancient king. After he has entered, he started exploring each and every corner. He did not hire any guide who could explain him about the fort. It took a few hours for him to see each and every corner of that fort. After he reached home, people started asking him what he saw in the fort and what was the specialty of it? His reply was, “I do not understand why these foolish people spend lots of money to see those rocks. The fort is nothing but rocks.” Later a person who has been to that fort earlier explains about the features and the specialty of the fort based on what he has heard from the guide and from the books he has read.
Today, when someone questions you about your spiritual walk, what would be your reply? Will it be like that foolish person saying,” Initially it was good. However, I do not see any difference between my past and present way of living. The only thing is that sinning seems bit tough for me now compared to earlier?”
Here are few common sentences which we happen to hear from our dear ones:
I am not understanding the purpose of my life.
Why are the circumstances always new and bitter to me?
How do I know when to react and how to react?
I do not know when this is going to end.
Dear friend in Christ, if these sentences are yours this day, then it is evident that you have not realized the blessing that we have as a child of God. The blessing of guidance is such a blessing which leads us, teaches us and keeps us aware of the things going on around us. If we realize that we have that blessing with us, we will never be confused, or heart broken due to various circumstances.
How do we find the blessing of guidance?
There is only one source, that is, to look at the Lord Jesus in His word, that is The Holy Bible. In God’s word you find His guidance.
As we have seen earlier, when a person visits a new place, he has to hire a guide who would explain him about the place. The life which we are leading now is completely new to us. It is true that most of the circumstances appear meaningless, pointless and useless to us. However, we can see the productivity that we get from these circumstances only when there is someone who guides us through these.
If there is someone who would tell us at our every step what we are going through and would prepare us to take the next step, fear can never take hold of us. The Holy Spirit works magnificently as a guide. At the times when you are clueless of things happening around you, the Holy Spirit through the word of God, explains us, comforts us. Not just comforting us, but also guides our every step. In Isaiah 58:11 we read, “And the LORD will continually guide you.” His guidance is not restricted for a period of time, at any moment we have got the access to go to Him seeking for His help. The word of God that fills us with courage is in Isaiah 46:4 which says,” Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you…”
When God’s word guides us through different phases of our life, why then do we face doubts, cluelessness, frustrations in our lives?
There are three steps which lead us to forget the blessing of guidance that we already have from the Lord Jesus Christ through His word.
- We stop looking to God for help and rely upon our own wisdom.
- We give ear to Satan and his devices which say that we are lost and can never get back on track.
- We start questioning God instead of seeking forgiveness.
The word of God says that we are to be guided continually, which means, there is no choice of making own decisions or relying upon our own wisdom to go on the path of understanding. The day when you reject God’s advice and give ear to your own wisdom you go off the track. After you begin facing the troubles, you think of going to God and ask for His guidance then, but Satan says,” You have gone off the track and it is difficult for you to go back and find God’s guidance.” Then we start to blame God and question Him for our ignorance.
My dear friend in Christ, have you been listening to your abilities and your own wisdom instead of seeking God’s guidance at every step of yours? Have you been frustrated with things going on around you which make no sense?
You still have your heavenly father standing there with His arms opened wide, He will pull you into an embrace when you look to Him with repentance. He will teach you, guide you and talk with you. He drives away all kinds of doubts, fears and uncertainty from your life.
It is not that you understand everything if you seek God’s guidance. There will be times when you do not understand the ways that God takes you through. However, as the child of God, instead of questioning, you start saying Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” And also Psalm 23” …He leadeth me beside the still waters.”
Oh, what a joy it is to stay calm amidst boisterous winds and turbulent waters, while the living God, the Lord Jesus Christ is leading us.
THANKSGIVING: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for the wonderful blessing of guidance which has been with me right from the day I have been called as your child till this moment. I thank you for your continual guidance which makes me stand tall even amidst difficult situations. Thank you for your Holy word and for the Holy Spirit who has been guiding me to all truth. In Jesus’ name I offer this thanks giving to you alone, Amen.
