Happy New Year, my dear friends! Every new year is exciting as we dream and hope for what lies ahead: a new chance to adopt a healthier lifestyle, to learn new skills, to restore broken relationships,
One of the greatest encouragement to me in Scripture is the assurance that God Himself will guide me step by step into the future. Over and over, God promises to teach and guide. I don't have to go into the great unknown by myself with my limited knowledge and in my human weakness.
Consider the characters of the Christmas story. Joseph, a righteous man, had in mind to divorce Mary quietly after he found out she was with child before their marriage. Yet an angel appeared to him to tell him to do otherwise. Joseph was instructed repeatedly on how to protect Mary and the baby Jesus from Herod's rampage. The Magi, foreign visitors facing danger, also received instruction on how to leave the country safely. (Matthew 1-2)
God continues to give divine instruction today. I have never knowingly seen an angel, but I have regularly heard the gentle whisper of God through the Bible: how to respond to this situation, when to pay that bill, which door of opportunity to take. That guidance is available to every follower of Jesus Christ.
Below are just a few of the verses in the Bible promising God's guidance to all who seek and trust Him. My friends, I urge you to take hold of these promises this year. No matter what lies ahead, you can face the future with confidence when you seek and trust in God's guidance.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
James 1:5-8
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Isaiah 28: 23-29 (The Lord gives a farmer detailed agricultural instruction!)
His God instructs him and teaches him the right way...
All this [knowledge] also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
Psalm 25:8-14
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant.
For the sake of Your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
He will spend his days in prosperity and his descendants will inherit the land.
The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.
One of the greatest encouragement to me in Scripture is the assurance that God Himself will guide me step by step into the future. Over and over, God promises to teach and guide. I don't have to go into the great unknown by myself with my limited knowledge and in my human weakness.
Consider the characters of the Christmas story. Joseph, a righteous man, had in mind to divorce Mary quietly after he found out she was with child before their marriage. Yet an angel appeared to him to tell him to do otherwise. Joseph was instructed repeatedly on how to protect Mary and the baby Jesus from Herod's rampage. The Magi, foreign visitors facing danger, also received instruction on how to leave the country safely. (Matthew 1-2)
God continues to give divine instruction today. I have never knowingly seen an angel, but I have regularly heard the gentle whisper of God through the Bible: how to respond to this situation, when to pay that bill, which door of opportunity to take. That guidance is available to every follower of Jesus Christ.
Below are just a few of the verses in the Bible promising God's guidance to all who seek and trust Him. My friends, I urge you to take hold of these promises this year. No matter what lies ahead, you can face the future with confidence when you seek and trust in God's guidance.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
James 1:5-8
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Isaiah 30:21
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
Isaiah 28: 23-29 (The Lord gives a farmer detailed agricultural instruction!)
His God instructs him and teaches him the right way...
All this [knowledge] also comes from the Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.
Psalm 25:8-14
Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in His ways.
He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of His covenant.
For the sake of Your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
He will spend his days in prosperity and his descendants will inherit the land.
The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.