God Guiding Principles
By: Dr. Mike Jones
God guides His people through basic principles. I’ve listed a few for us to ponder how we may grasp the importance of each and those that aren’t listed, that are bedded in the pages of scripture.
Principle #1. Follow what is clearly revealed
We must be willing to do his will in those things he has already revealed, if we are to know his will in those things he has not yet made known. God has already made known the greater part of his will for us in the Bible. The Apostle Paul says in (2 Timothy 3:16,17), “Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds”
Principle #2. Most of God’s guidance is unconscious
In Proverbs Chapter 3:5-6, King Solomon instructs us to, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.” If we exercise trust and acknowledge him in every area of our lives, he promised he would guide us. We don’t have to wonder about it: We know he’s doing it!
Saints, as time passes and we look back, only then will we see he has been guiding us. [Then we can say like the songwriter: “I looked back and wonder, how I made it over!”]
Principle #3. God expects us to use our intelligence
In Psalm 32:8-9, God says through the writing of King David, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle.” These animals have to be ‘forced’ by someone to be controlled. But we know in the writings of the New Testament, a lot is said about the use of the mind. For example, in Matthews 22:37, Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
The great Missionary Evangelist Hudson Taylor, who was responsible for the leadership of a 1,000 missionary into the evangelization of China, said, in his younger days he use to hear with clarity from the Lord, but in his later years, he felt that he was in a fog, when it came to hearing from his Lord concerning guidance. Why? Simply because, being as mature as he was in his knowledge of the Bible and the ways of God, the Lord trusted him to make the right decisions. And for us that are mature, maybe that’s what the Lord is saying to US: “I trust YOU to make the right decision, in this situation – therefore, MAKE IT! You have MY wisdom, in terms of how I would handle it!”
Simply stated, He’s saying, “I’ve given YOU WISDOM to make the best decision. Isn’t that better than looking for a SIGN … which can be deceiving?
Conclusion: How God decides to guide us is his responsibility; our responsibility is simply to trust him.
(Adapted from God Guides Hip People Through 5 Basic Principles; all Scripture references are taken from the KJV unless otherwise noted.)