"Devising... Directed"

"Devising... Directed"

   

    What a joy that we do not have to make the decisions of life by ourselves!

    "A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps" (Proverbs 16:9).

      

    Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ rightly "devise," that is, we plan, prepare, and engage our mental faculties to decide the whats, whens, wheres, and hows of today and tomorrow.  However, we do so with confidence that our Heavenly Father directs our steps, working to confirm proper devisings and correct wayward plans that lead us astray.  As we prayerfully walk with God in His Word and in the fellowship of devoted Christians, our Father blesses us with confidence in His guidance and enabling power to fulfill His purposes in our lives.  Of course, we also recognize that in our present existence, we can miss the Lord's will and be misled down paths of error.  We nevertheless choose to believe that God promises and purposes to guide us as we devote ourselves to His glory and will.  "Trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy steps" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

    Obviously, in a world full of devilish and fleshly influences, we recognize that God's leadership primarily involves teaching us to think well, that is, to think in terms of His Biblical truth.  We make well-informed decisions accordingly, using our spiritual and mental faculties in the confidence of the Holy Spirit's guidance, but also realizing we exercise our minds and wills as a vital part of the process.  This constitutes a far safer path than expecting guidance by impulses, notions, fleeces, and internal "voices" that are far more likely to originate in our enemies than the Great Friend and Guide of our hearts.  Indeed, the believer who well reads the Scriptures will well approach God in prayer, and then discover increasingly effective capacity for thought that leads to good decision-making.  Again, we will not be perfect in this lifetime regarding the Lord's guidance.  We can, however, grow in trusting our Heavenly Father and then using our understanding as a matter of faith in the God who "worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

"Oh send out Thy light and Thy truth.  Let them lead me."

(Psalm 43:3)

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path… Order my steps in Thy Word."

(Psalm 119:105; 130)

Weekly Memory Verse

     "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

(I Corinthians 15:10)