Tag Archives: God leads us

November 30, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Following God’s Lead

Driving through Houston can be complicated. I had a customer once call me to tell me where they were on their way to training. I told them it should only take about ten more minutes to get to the location. After 20 minutes past, I wondered where they were. After 30 minutes I began to worry. When they finally arrived, I asked what happened. They had tried to drive to me without their GPS, started talking and missed the sign that had the exit they were supposed to take. Instead of coming right to me, they ended up passing me, but then took the loop around instead of making a U-Turn. They got caught in traffic, but eventually made their way to me.

Life can be complicated too. God has a purpose and a plan for each of us. He’s given us to Holy Spirit to be our GPS to guide and direct us, but we don’t always listen to Him. He’s also put up sign posts in our lives to help us know where to go, but sometimes we’re too distracted to see them. As a result, most of us take the long hard road to get to where He’s trying to lead us. We think we know better than the Holy Spirit’s GPS, so we keep going when He’s trying to help us avoid traffic and distractions. He has cleared the way for us, but we must learn to follow His leading.

After King Solomon prayed for wisdom, he built the Temple that God had told his father he would build. While dedicating it in 1 Kings 8, he prayed, addressed the people there then blessed them. In verse 58, he blessed them said, “May he (God) keep us centered and devoted to him, following the life path he has cleared, watching the signposts, walking at the pace and rhythms he laid down for our ancestors” (MSG). I pray today that God will keep you centered in the chaos around you. That He would give you direction with the decisions you are having to make. That He would keep you alert so you can see the signposts He’s put in your path. Also that you would be able to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice above all the noise, and that you would have the wisdom and courage to follow where He leads.

Photo by Ali Kazal on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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February 1, 2021 · 5:25 AM

Having Your Reigns Pulled

If you’ve ever ridden a horse, you know they’re fairly easy to control with the reigns. A slight tug on the right makes them go right. A slight tug on the left and they go left. Pull your feet into their side just a little and off you go. I used to ride horses in the Sahara Desert near the Saqqara pyramid in Egypt. This horse was fast and fun to ride. I’d ride her over dunes and through small valleys, up and over as fast as she could go. All was good until I went over one dune and she could see the pyramid. Immediately, she would go into memory mode and start walking toward the pyramid. No matter how hard I pulled the reigns, she wouldn’t turn. I would have to dismount, cover her eyes and lead her to where she couldn’t see them so I could ride some more.

You’re probably familiar with the story of Jonah and the whale. He was told by God to go to Nineveh and preach, but he didn’t want to go. Instead he boarded a ship and went the other direction. A bad storm came to try to get him to change directions, but he stayed the course. The storm got worse to the point they started throwing things overboard as God tugged on Jonah’s reigns. Finally he admitted he was the culprit and asked to be tossed overboard. He’d rather die than to go to Nineveh. God prepared a great fish to swallow him until He could lead Jonah to where He wanted him to go. Even there, Jonah had to have his reigns pulled a few times and even felt some spurs to the side to encourage him to move. We like to point at Jonah without looking at how we disobey God’s leading, but God has to pull on our reigns too.

God has a plan for you and for me. We were created with purpose, and God is constantly revealing it to us if we’re looking and listening. He’s constantly pulling on our reigns to keep us on track. In Psalm 32:9, God says, “Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule that needs bit and bridle to stay on track” (MSG). We get distracted like my horse in Egypt and become fixated on things of the flesh rather than the tasks God has for us. God pulls and pulls on us to go where He’s trying to lead, He will do whatever it takes to get our attention (just ask Jonah). You’re probably not in danger of being swallowed by a fish, but thankfully God will use people and things to guide us back to our purpose. Take it from me as someone who’s had their reigns pulled a few times, it’s better to obey and to stay on track. Follow the tugging of the Holy Spirit today and go where He leads.

Photo by Marylou Fortier on Unsplash

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May 22, 2020 · 5:54 AM

Following Where God Leads

We all have leaders in our lives. Some of them we trust, and some we don’t. I’ve had some whom i didn’t question. If they said we could walk on water, I’d get out of the boat. There have been some I’ve had that if they told me to go right, I’d think really hard about going left. I’m always working on my leadership skills which means I’m always learning how to build trust. There are thousands of books on how to be a better leader. There are any number of traits you can take too, but not much is out there about how to be a good follower. None of us like to think of ourselves as followers, but we are. To be a good follower, you have to put pride and selfishness away, and trust the one who is leading you.

The Bible is full of verses that talk about how God leads us. It’s also full of men and women who refused to follow where God was trying to lead them. They felt their plan was better or they failed to clarify what they understood of His plan. There are also many people who followed where God led them, and they were blessed immensely. God doesn’t force us to follow where He leads us. It’s always our choice. How well have you been following where He has been trying to lead you? Has pride or selfishness kept you from following? No matter how far you’ve gone in the other direction, it’s just one step back to following where He wants to take you. Learning to follow where He leads is a process each of us are in daily.

Here are some Bible verses on God leading us.

1. From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and weak; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I [a rock that is too high to reach without Your help].

Psalms 61:2 AMP

2. Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way. Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for you are near.

Psalms 23:4 TPT

3. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

Psalms 25:5 NLT

4. The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. He lets me rest in fields of green grass and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.

Psalm 23:1-2 GNT

5. If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me.

Psalms 139:8-10 AMP

Thanks to @AMPRSNDPHOTO for making this photo available freely on @unsplash

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February 7, 2020 · 5:53 AM

Opening Doors

Life can seem like a series of doors that you have to walk through. Some are open and some are closed. Sometimes you walk through an open door only to find a closed door behind it. That’s always frustrating to me. Does that mean I shouldn’t have walked through the open door? Am I in the wrong place? Should I turn around and look elsewhere? I don’t think so. Jesus told us to knock and the door would be opened. Jesus also told the story of a person who had a visitor show up in the middle of the night. He didn’t have any food, so he went to his neighbor’s house and knocked on the door. There man told him it was locked and that were in bed. The first man kept knocking until the other person came and opened the door to give him what he wanted.

When you’ve walked through an open door that God has led you through only to find a closed door, don’t panic and turn around. Knocking on closed doors is a faith builder and a prayer enabler. If you’ve knocked a while and nothing has happened, ask God to show you if you need to keep knocking or to open your eyes to see an open door you’re not seeing. God is in the habit of opening doors for us, and the doors He open can be shut by anyone. He has ordered our steps and leads us in His paths, but that requires that you and I are willing to move from where we are to where He’s taking us. As He opens doors, you and I must walk through them. I like to pray, “God, close the doors I’m not supposed to walk through, and lead me to the open doors you have for me.”

Here are some Bible verses on open doors.

1. Strive to enter through the narrow door [force aside unbelief and the attractions of sin]; for many, I tell you, will try to enter [by their own works] and will not be able.

Luke 13:24 AMP

2. Here’s what I’m saying: Ask and you’ll get; Seek and you’ll find; Knock and the door will open.

Luke 11:9 MSG

3. There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.

1 Corinthians 16:9 NLT

4. To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: “This is the message from the one who is holy and true. He has the key that belonged to David, and when he opens a door, no one can close it, and when he closes it, no one can open it. I know what you do; I know that you have a little power; you have followed my teaching and have been faithful to me. I have opened a door in front of you, which no one can close.”

Revelation 3:7-8 GNT

5. For everyone who keeps on asking [persistently], receives; and he who keeps on seeking [persistently], finds; and to him who keeps on knocking [persistently], the door will be opened.

Luke 11:10 AMP

Thanks to @roanlavery for making this photo available freely on @unsplash

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