Tag: God's leading

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Judges Devotionals

Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?

Deborah

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” (Judges 4:14)

Just thinking on those words today: “Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?”

God never tells me to go somewhere where he’s not leading the way. And the longer I live, the more I see that in my life.

Sometimes taking steps of faith is scary. It was scary for Barak. It’s scary for me.

But as I think on Deborah’s words, my prayer is this:

Father, you have proven to me that you are good. You’ve proven that you always go before me. So help me to keep taking steps of faith forward, following you. And lead on.

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Joshua Devotionals

Because we’re on untraveled ground

Untraveled ground

When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests, you are to break camp and follow it.

But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between yourselves and the ark. Don’t go near it, so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before…”

Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” (Joshua 3:3-4, 9)

As I read those words, I couldn’t help but think of some verses I’ve been memorizing over the past week from Psalm 143.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust.

Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge.

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! (Psalm 143:8-10, ESV)

That could have been the song of the Israelites entering Canaan.

But it’s also my prayer now.

The future is all untraveled ground for me. There’s so much I don’t know.

And Satan would lay so many traps for me that I can’t see.

But God knows everything that lies ahead.

And so I want…I need to draw closer. To listen to His words. To learn to do his will. To be led by his Spirit moment to moment, day to day.

What does that look like practically? I’m still trying to figure it out, to be honest. But that’s my prayer.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust.

Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge.

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! (Psalm 143:8-10)

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Deuteronomy Devotionals

Brought out to be led in

Path to life

[The LORD] brought us from there in order to lead us in… (Deuteronomy 6:23)

I was just meditating on those words this morning.

Just as God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, God has brought us out of slavery to sin in Satan’s kingdom.

But God doesn’t want us to just wander around out on our own. He wants to lead us into his own kingdom so we can find true life and peace with him.

But for that to happen, we need to leave Egypt behind.

In other words, we need to leave our old thoughts and patterns of life behind. We need to embrace God’s way of thinking, letting it touch our heads, hearts, and hands. (Deuteronomy 6:6, 8)

So today, I’ve been thinking about the old patterns I need to let go of and the new ones I need to embrace.

What is God speaking to your heart about?

He brought us out.

Now let’s allow him to lead us into new life.

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Bible Original

Lead me on

God's leading

I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. (John 16:12-13)

Lord Jesus, how many things do you refrain from telling me because I am not yet able to bear it?

The sins in my life that I am yet blind to. Sins that would overwhelm me with guilt if I saw them all now.

The things that will happen in my future. Good things I would try to force into reality if I knew about them now.

And hard things I would fret about if I knew they were coming.

Yet, in your timing, by your Spirit, you will lead me into all truth.

Lead me on, Holy Spirit. 

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Exodus Devotions

The One who goes ahead of us

Pillar of cloud and pillar of fire

The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night.

The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:21-22)

Father, you are the one that goes before me. Night or day, you never leave your place in front of me.

Lead me by your wisdom. You know me better than I know myself. You know what I can handle and what I can’t. (Exodus 13:17-18)

May I have the faith of Joseph, confident that what you have said, you will do. (Exodus 13:19)

May I have the faith of Moses, following wherever you lead.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Joshua Devotionals

A prayer for God’s leading

Joshua

When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God carried by the Levitical priests, you are to break camp and follow it…so that you can see the way to go, for you haven’t traveled this way before. (Joshua 3:3-4)

Lord in so many ways, I need your leading. There’s so much I don’t know. I don’t know what’s ahead. I haven’t traveled this way before. But you have. So Lord, help me to keep my eyes on you today and to follow you.

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, because the Lord will do wonders among you tomorrow.” (5)

Lord, I give my life to you today. My life is yours. My time is yours. Everything I have is yours. I want to join in with what you’re doing today. Let me see what you’re doing around me. Let me see your wonders as you work in my life and in those around me.

Come closer and listen to the words of the Lord your God…You will know that the living God is among you… (9-10)

Lord I long to know your presence in my life. I need to hear your voice. So I draw near to you now. Help me to hear what you’re saying to me.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Psalms Devotionals

Though we don’t see him

Psalms

Your way went through the sea
and your path through the vast water,
but your footprints were unseen.

You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77:19-20)

Throughout the first part of this psalm, Asaph mourns at God’s silence in the midst of his troubles.

That’s what makes these last two verses so striking.

At the Red Sea, God made a way of deliverance for his people. And yet they couldn’t see him. His “footsteps were unseen.” (Exodus 14)

Nevertheless, he was leading them. He had not abandoned them.

There are times when God seems to have abandoned us. Times when he seems silent in our suffering.

But though we cannot see him, though we can’t see his ‘footsteps,’ he is leading us. He is making a way for us.

So let us wait in hope, singing,

God, your way is holy.
What god is great like God?
You are the God who works wonders…(13-14)

Categories
Exodus

God’s leading

I think this one will be short and sweet today. 

There are three things that strike me about God’s leading in this passage.

First, he never leads us into situations greater than we can handle. 

It says in verse 17,

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.

For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 13:17)

God knew that the Israelites would not be able to handle going through Philistine country, and so he led them another way. 

In the same way, no matter how bad things may get in our lives, God never lets us go through more than we can bear. 

One person put it this way, “Every trial we go through in our lives must first pass through the hands of God.” 

Or as Paul put it,

No temptation (trial) has seized you except what is common to man.

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted (tested) beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted (tested), he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.  (1 Corinthians 10:13. Comments on the translation can be found here.)

Second, God’s leading is sure.  He always knows what he’s doing and where he’s leading us.  And because of that, we can count on him. 

Joseph surely knew this when he told his people,

God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place. (Exodus 13:19)

Finally, God is always ahead of us leading the way.  All we have to do is decide to follow him. 

I love the last part of this passage where it says,

By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:21-22)

God is always ahead of us to give light to our path in life.

And whether we’re in times when things seem clear, or times when things seem dark and cloudy, God never leaves his place in front of us.