God Directed Footsteps

God Directed Footsteps

It is the tendency of Christians to turn to God for guidance in the same way that a child eagerly seeks guidance from his/her father. There is more than one way to seek guidance from God. There are the options of seeking guidance from the Bible, or through prayer, speaking to a spiritually mature pastor or role model -or several other options. Turning to the Bible is a popular option, in fact the Bible was written to give us direction. 

      2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting  and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for very good work." 

Another popular option is prayer. Many Christians are taught how to pray as children, but some do not learn to 'be still' and meditate on the word to receive clear guidance through the Holy Spirit. This passage describes the Holy Spirit.

     John 16:13...when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the 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.

What if a person is doing it right? What if that person does pray, and reads the Bible, and he/she still has questions -for which that person has no answers? What if a person is about to make a very specific life changing decision, or has a very specific question and feels that the answer not written in the scriptures? Who, what, or where does a person turn to in search of these answers?

These questions are the ones that trouble me sometimes, but after searching for answers for this blog -I've found peace with them. I often have questions, at this point in my life, which I feel are not written in black and white in the Bible. The main ones are: Who do I choose as a partner? Which career course should I choose, and would it be one favourable to God? Finally, I worry about being a good person, and living a life that is favourable to God.

Lately, the more that I looked into the Biblically inspired materials to conduct research, the more I realized that these are normal questions for young individuals (...Well, I still consider myself young). I arrived on three Bible verses that really pacified my constant, nagging, concerns. I would like to illustrate them using an analogy. 

The first concern was a dual one, 'How do I choose a path that is favourable in God's eyes, which career should I choose?' I once read that 'the Bible is life's little instruction book', but it serves so many people that it is hard to make a specific decision based on its directions sometimes. For more than a week I have been meditating on the void that I feel when I seek distinct and specific directions from the Bible. I find that the scriptures can be very general. I find myself conceptualizing the Bible as God's way to give us directions when we're lost. When I'm really lost, and I stop to ask someone for directions, that someone may say, "Go south for two blocks, and then turn right." Those are very general directions, some part of those directions have to be sorted out while walking the path. The instructions do not guide every footstep that you take until you reach your destination. The road may be dark and scary, but you don't know that until you start walking. There may be a road block, or construction. There may be open manholes, or potholes that make the road rough, or other countless obstacles. Whichever way, you may find yourself wondering if you should reconsider the course you planned on taking. Such is true in life too. We don't know what we will encounter on a path until we have embarked on the journey. The Bible does tell us this, "The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps." (Proverbs 14:15, NIV) This tells us that God wants us to give thought to the steps that we take. He did not create us as simple creatures, but as complex ones. Regardless of the road, or the obstacles, or the instructions that we are given, He wants us to think about our steps. 

Through prayer, we don't have to think about our steps alone. We can call on the Lord like the Psalmist did in Psalm 119: 133, NIV and ask the Lord, "Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me."

As for my other concern about choosing a partner, life has taught me that the only true love, is that which embodies all the qualities of love that are exemplified in our creator. I can only hope to find a partner who reflects 'that kind of love', I truly believe that knowing God makes it that much easier to understand ‘that kind of love’. So, I hope the partner that I find knows God’s type of love. 

Finally, in meditation on finding direction, I had to remind myself what should drive me as a Christian. It is my duty, "(To) Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of mankind." (Ecclesiastes 12:13, NIV) Whichever, career course I choose, I have to remember what my ultimate duty is -in all that I do.

By: Leah J.