God as our guide sounds beautiful. God telling us what to do can be frustrating, yet, they are both the same idea. We know we want God to guide us, but are we willing to make the changes that He asks in our lives?
Sometimes the guidance of the Lord is subtle and we aren’t even aware until things fall into place. Sometimes, however, the Lord is asking us to do something at odds with our natural way of doing things. While the first way is easier, they are both from the Lord.
Being guided means having the way you should go pointed out. If you take a guide with you on a trail, they show you the path. If you don’t listen to them, you might end up lost, or at the very least, not getting where you meant to go. God’s guidance is the same way. He shows us the path, and we have to choose to take it.
His prompting can come in so many ways: from conviction of sin, to an idea to help someone else, or to the inspiration to pursue an idea, just to name a few. As we learn to sense Him more and understand what He’s guiding us to do, we must then choose to change our course to include that guidance.
Our natural self fights the guidance of the Lord because we want to be the one at the helm. Our need for control runs deep and we often find ourselves at odds with the Holy Spirit over life choices.
God as our guide means He is the one who chooses the path we are on. If we hear His advice and then choose our own way, we are not being guided by Him. Saying you want the Lord to guide you means that you must also be willing to do what He says, even if it isn’t anything like you thought it would be.
God is a good god. He wants the best for His children and knows how to give them good gifts. His advice and commands are good and bring us to a fuller life in Him. Our willingness to listen and obey Him is how we partner with Him to bring freedom and blessings in our lives.