How God guides us

‘… the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word in the province of Asia at that time.’ (Acts 16:6)

How do you get guidance from the Lord? As I write this article, I’ve been putting together messages based on Christmas nativity passages where divine guidance seems to come by way of angelic visitations, dreams and reading astrological charts. They are fascinating passages, but I’m not sure they are a ‘how to’ guide for discovering God’s will. It is important to remember that these dramatic moments of guidance came before God had poured out His Spirit at Pentecost.

My experience has been more in line with Paul’s dusty footprints as he takes the gospel through Phrygia and Galatia, having been ‘prevented’ by the Spirit from taking the gospel to Asia. Paul was already on the move with the gospel as he received guidance from the Spirit, but he does not tell us exactly how the Spirit ‘prevented’ him entering Asia. Was it a vision, like ‘the man from Macedonia?’ Was it a worship gathering, like the one at Antioch where the Spirit said (in some way) that Paul and Barnabas needed to be set apart for mission work?

Was it an impression the Spirit placed on Paul’s heart as he was reading the Scriptures and praying? Or was there some natural circumstance – tensions in Asia that were best avoided? Any of those suggestions are possible and reflect how men and women of God have been guided in the past. We simply do not know how the Spirit guided Paul, only that Paul was clear he had been guided. And perhaps that is the point. There are any number of ways that God can guide us by His Spirit.

But the key issue was that Paul was already on the move, fulfilling the clearer calling he had from God to take the gospel where it was not known, with a heart ready to ‘complete the task the Lord Jesus gave to me’ (Acts 20:24). Whatever the day-to-day guidance he needed, Paul was very clear about his overall calling. When he asks the Romans to ‘help him on his way’, he tells of his desire to take the gospel to Spain (Rom. 15:24) so that he did not minister on ground that was covered by other gospel workers.

We do not know if Paul ever got to Spain, but his intentions are recorded for us in Scripture, because they were pleasing to the Lord, regardless of Paul’s ultimate destination. God guides people whose hearts are already burning for Him, who are on the move doing what is crystal clear in Scripture. Witnessing for Christ, loving, carrying others’ burdens, worshipping, making disciples, laying down our lives for our spouses, bringing up our children in the fear of the Lord, and surrounding all that activity in Scripture devotion and wholehearted prayer. We know the big picture of what we are called to do.

Who we are is more important than where we are. There is nothing wrong with wanting a move, or longing for ‘greener pastures’ in which to serve the Lord. But nothing will hide you from the real issue – ‘does my heart belong to the Lord? Am I wanting His kingdom to come as my primary motivation?’

If you are, God will find His own way of directing you. You don’t need to start reading your tea leaves. Finding out God’s will for the detail of our lives is not some magic art. God will look after the details, but He is much more interested in whether our hearts are truly for Him.

Make Him your first love, and building His kingdom your driving desire, and God will uncover the way He wants you to take, even if that means staying exactly where you are, with all its problems and frustrations. Focus on being the man or woman He is calling you to be, and He will make sure He places you in a setting, not where you will have the most ‘success’, or highest profile, but where you will bring Him the most glory.