“Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,” wrote the great hymnwriter, William Williams. With those words he captured your longing for God’s guidance. But, even before that the Psalmist wrote:
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me (Psalm 5:8).
With or without enemies, you need God’s guidance and you know it. Here are three keys that will help you to be attuned to God’s guidance everyday.
#1 Receiving God’s Guidance is God’s Work
Receiving God’s guidance is based on your relationship with God. God initiated this relationship in Jesus Christ. When you confessed your sin and received God’s salvation through Jesus’ finished work this relationship opened up in a wonderful way. Now, the Triune God is with you.
It is God’s work and this is good news. You have received the Holy Spirit, bearing witness within that you are God’s child. The Holy Spirit also guides you. There is no need for you to stress.
At the same time, as with any relationship, if your relationship with God is going to deepen, you have to do your part to cultivate it. This brings us to context, because receiving God’s guidance is not something that you work up to but something that you live into.
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#The Context of Staying Attuned God’s Guidance
You find these interesting words in Acts 13:2—”While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” There are two things to note here:
- What they were doing—worshiping, fasting, with the implication of praying.
- What they received—they received direct guidance from the Holy Spirit.
This would suggest that if you want to receive God’s guidance you need to be someone who sets aside time for intentional communication with God. This is time in which you worship God, pray (speak and listen), and as needed, fast. What this is about is honoring God, but also getting to know God more. It is living into being guided by God by cultivating your relationship with God.
To complete the picture, study God’s Word. Gain a deeper understanding of God’s loving faithfulness, and how God acts.
Staying Attuned to God’s Guidance is a Journey of Growth
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:28).
The more you pay attention to your context, the more you’ll get to know God, and the deeper your relationship with God will be. You will be growing. As you grow, you’ll be wanting to know what God wants you to do, where God wants you to go for you will be trusting God more and more. Out of this desire and growing relationship you’ll get better at listening to God and knowing God’s voice.
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Thus, not only in your intentional times with God, but also during the day as you go along, you’ll quiet yourself and ask, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” You’ll not only ask, but you’ll also listen and God will speak. You will be attuned to and receive God’s guidance.
Get closer to God and gain a deeper understanding of who God is.
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