Guidance

from Urbana

God honors obedience. He is in your life, ready to lead you according to His program of guidance. But He cannot lead a person who does not listen to Him, who is not close to Him. If you are struggling with a specific question, rather than trying to magically divine God's answer, spend time drawing close to Him. Then your character, and perhaps your perspective, will change. Then God will shape your desires. Then you will have the mind of Christ

Ask yourself if your motivation in life is to glorify God. Often the struggles we have with situations do not grow out of love for God, but out of selfishness and pride....

Sometimes the Lord pushes us in one direction so that we will have a differing perspective than we could have had otherwise, to point us in another way, which is where He wanted us to go all along.

Regardless of where we are on our journey, He does not abandon us, even when we feel confused. When we find ourselves in times of confusion, our tendency is to panic. A more helpful response is to "sit down," bring the whole issue before the Lord, review the past, and then ask Him how we should proceed, recognizing that His continued goal is to help us foster a closer relationship of obedience, trust, and dependence on Him.

I find that God is never in a hurry, He is sometimes silent (which can be irritating), and we occasionally experience confusion. But through it all He is training us, leading us, and teaching us lessons of faith.