Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Scriptures of Guidance ~ Step by Step

"The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail." ~ Isaiah 58:11, NKJV

The Lord is teaching me something that is changing my life.

He has shown me His Presence. He has opened my ears to hear His sweet whispers of love. My God has made me aware of the follies of worrying about tomorrow. And now He is helping me understand about His guidance.

Isn't this the leading question in most of our minds: "Lord,what do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? Please show me Your will."

Did I hit a nerve? I KNOW! We make everything so complicated, but God says, "Come and sit with me awhile. Lean on Me and not your own understanding."

Here's the thing: As I totally grasp the thought that the Lord is holding me by the hand (Psalm 139:10) and begin to walk in that reality, then I must take the quantum leap and understand that He is directing my steps. He is the Leader; I am the follower. We know that He shows us one step at a time, right? Rarely do we see the entire path that lies ahead.

But here is the dilemma.
I like to be in control.
I like to show the Lord my desired path and pull him along like my kids did when they were little and wanted to show me a "treasure".

It doesn't work that way.

God's orchestration of my life is beautiful.

When I am seeking Him, loving Him, honoring Him with my life - then His hand is upon me. I am giving Him His rightful place as Lord in my life. My focus is on Him, not me. My focus is on Him, not my confusion. His hand steers me each step because I am holding His hand. When I am in this intimate relationship with Him, doing my best to obey Him each moment of each day, then I can trust that He will steer me down the path He has chosen for me.

If I am close enough to hold His hand, then I am close enough to hear Him whisper.
If I am close enough to hear Him whisper, then I am close enough to know and trust the next step.

It actually takes the pressure off of me. I don't need to figure out everything. I only need to hold onto my Daddy's hand. He'll take care of the rest.



Father God, It is such a comfort to realize that You really do walk with us, and talk with us, and lead us by the hand just like Your Word teaches. Thank You for opening my eyes to see this beautiful image of walking hand in hand with You. And thank You for opening my heart to understand how much You love and care for me. I ask that You speak this same truth to my friends. Seal it in their hearts by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Let them know Your Presence in their lives. Thank You Lord. You alone are worthy of our praise.

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10 comments :

  1. We are in need of rain, here...it goes all around us~literally~but we are left high and dry. So, I've been praying for rain... Then I read this, Nan!! What a wonderful spiritual and life application that hit home for me :)
    Love you!!

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    1. Hey Mid! I'm so thankful it ministered to you today. Thanks for stopping by. Love you!

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  2. "If I am close enough to hold His hand, then I am close enough to hear Him whisper.
    If I am close enough to hear Him whisper, then I am close enough to know and trust the next step."

    Powerful! Thank you!

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    1. You're welcome Vonda. I'm so thankful God opened my eyes to see this truth.

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  3. I just need to keep on holding to His hand too, Nan. Thanks for a beautiful post about intimacy with our Lord. I'd like to invite you to stop by and see my new post about walking with the Lord at www.glendamills.com>

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    1. Hi Glenda. I'm so glad you stopped by. Thank you. As soon as I market Morning Glory on Twitter and Facebook, I'll head over to your website. I'm looking forward to it. Bless you!

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  4. This one brought tears tonight. Such a refreshing encouragement after a very bad day. Thank you for sharing.

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  5. Oh...I'm sorry you've had a hard day. I love you sweetie and I'm holding you close to my heart in prayer.

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  6. I sure needed this, too. My family is at a desperate situation now. We have to leave our former apartment in a little more than a month and we still haven't found a house to buy. The third deal fell through because the "candidate" house didn't have the papers in order (like the second one).

    We've been praying for more than a year now for this move. When we sold our apartment we began to pray more fervently. Our continual request is "Guide us". Teach us that next step. We have no open doors, no known areas of disobedience, we've grown closer and more dependent on God... still we feel we're walking in circles. Something's blocking our blessing and preventing us from reaching our Promised Land (house).

    We don't know what else to do. Right now I feel sooo discouraged.
    Will send you an email later with more details about the situation. Please keep me in your prayers.

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    1. Carina, may I pray for you now? Father, I lift up Carina and her family to You. The stress is overwhelming them. They need a breakthrough Lord. I ask that You make a way for them where there seems to be no way. Open their eyes to see what is hindering their blessings. Open their ears to hear Your voice of guidance and wisdom. You promised that Your children will not go begging for bread and You also promised that You are our deliverer - that You are our strong tower where we can run and be safe. Encourage Carina Lord. Grant her the peace that passes all understanding. Give her hope and favor. Hold her and her family close where they feel safe and secure. Thank You Lord. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

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