Rev. Richard Smith
| Exodus 13:21-22 By day the Lord went ahead of the Israelites 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. |
A compelling motif in the Old and New Testaments is that God leads and guides his people.
How does God lead us? How does God work in our lives to accomplish what He desires?
Most Often God Works Subtlely, Indirectly Rather Than Dramatically
There clearly are in the Bible numerous examples of God working dramatically and extraordinarily in people’s lives. Moses’ encounter with the burning bush in Exodus and Saul of Tarsus’ experience on the road to Damascus certainly come to mind. Throughout Christian history as well there have been manifold witnesses to a dramatic working of God in their lives. None of us question this.
But, for you and me, this most likely will not be the case. In your life and in my life God is more likely to work indirectly, subtlety, behind the scenes, as “that still small voice”, as an inner voice which nudges us, in the ordinary circumstances of our lives.
God Speaks Through Reason And Intellect
Jesus said that we are to love God with our “mind”. To do this is to use our minds, to apply reasoning, to use our intellects – even in matters of faith. We do the Christian witness no favors by diminishing the place of reason as necessary in our seeking God’s will.
I’ve quoted John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, before on this matter. Here it is again:
When you despise or devalue reason, you must not imagine you are doing God’s service. And when you endeavor to exclude reason out of religion, don’t presume you are promoting the cause of God. Unless you willfully shut your eyes, you cannot but see what service reason is in laying the foundation of true religion, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit…You see, reason directs us in every point of faith and practice and with regard to every branch of inward and outward holiness
God Speaks Through Other People
Someone has said that there are four types of people whom God uses in our lives to help us:
- The “encouragers” whom God uses to help life our spirits.
- The “trusted counselors” through whom God provides wise counsel.
- The “mentors” who model for us mature and thoughtful spiritual living.
- The “comforters” whose caring and attention soothes our souls.
I would add another to this category…our critics, those who disagree with us. If we’re
going to be attentive to God’s leading, then we cannot ignore or belittle the thoughts of those who disagree with us. God might just be working through them to help us make right decisions. Of course, this doesn’t mean we ignore untruths or embrace falsehoods.
God Uses Moments Of Difficulty In Our Lives
God uses the difficult moments in our lives to strengthen our perseverance, to strengthen our resilience, and to help us grow in faith and trust.
I’m not saying that God causes acts of specific suffering or difficulty or great challenge just so He can teach us. I don’t believe that. I don’t believe that God causes your particular suffering and difficulty or my particular suffering or difficulty. He allows such, but He does not cause such.
I do believe that God uses these moments in our lives to help us grow and mature.
The key, then, is to pray for discernment in the midst of our challenges; to be attentive to the lessons God would bring our way; to be open to how God is using the particular painful experience for our better good.
