Would You show me the Way?

One of my favorite Scripture is Psalm 32:8 " I [the Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you."

My everyday prayer essentially includes the line, "God guide me". I keep repeating this quite a lot, that now I'm led to think that I don't mean it at all. Meditating on this verse recently gave me some insight on how God goes about answering my prayer for guidance.

God's guidance reaches us in different levels.

Level 1 - Instruction

Our age of the machines, gives us gadgets to simplify or complicate most of our tasks. Most of these stuff come with an instruction manual, they tell us how to use them, the precautions, and some basic troubleshooting information as well.

Most of us who know nothing about engineering design and other technical jargon can handle most of these paraphernalia by ourselves. These manuals do a great job in helping us skip theoretical details. All we have is an easy sequence of steps to follow, and we can go about operating things like a pro.

In our lives too, sometimes God gives us just instructions and nothing more.

Genesis 12:1

The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.

Just an instruction!!, no strategy, no explanation and no route map.

If at that point God were to explain to Abraham his rather long journey to Cannan followed by the adventures of his grandson, and then the bondage of his generation and their wanderings in the wilderness, their disobedience and stiff neckness, and then how this small race would help bring Light to an eternally condemned world. Abraham's head would have begun to twirl and would have definitely turned down God's direction to leave Haran and missed his spot in God's perfect Vision.

Maybe that's why God sometimes just gives us instructions and a promise and asks us to get going. When we try to find an explanation, at this level. We wont find it, and even if we do find one, we would still be clueless.

But what we can do is to trust and obey. And follow his directions immaterial of whether we understand it or not. God does not go to the details not because He's the boss, but because we don't have the capacity to understand it. When we continue in this wonderful journey with our Master, slowly but gloriously we will begin to understand the reason for His ways.

Level II - Teaching

For some of us, the only kind of teaching we are exposed to are the never ending, lullaby lectures that we hear in the class room. This kind of teaching is one way traffic, the 'guru's' monologue keeps going non-stop, irrespective of whether the listeners get a hang of it or not.

Well, this is not the way our Master teaches. He actually does not go to the next lesson until we have learnt the previous one completely well. Many of us get stuck in our lives, primarily because we refuse to learn our lessons. The moment we listen to our Master's Voice in every circumstance of our life and learn what He has to teach us, we would be progressing everyday.

But our problem is that we are either too busy to listen to His voice, or too spiritual confessing victory that we fail to learn what God wants to teach.

James 1 : 2-5

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

God asks his children to consider every trial as an opportunity for joy[NLT]. Because He plans a perfect lesson in the midst of each of those tough times. These lessons are taught by 'faith-testing' exercises and completing them require perseverance. On finishing each of these lessons, we attain a new level of maturity, A higher level of relationship with our God.

In order to understand and implement these lessons we need quite a lot of wisdom and understanding, that God promises to give in generous dosage. However we are busy praying for deliverance instead of asking God for wisdom to understand His teaching.

One of the most exciting levels of God's guidance is the part where he teaches us.The more we learn, the more rewarding journey becomes. We begin to see things with more clarity and make decisions with definite direction and discretion.

Level - III - Counsel

We think that if God leads us then our path will be 'fault proof'. I wish it were that way, but God just does not work like that. He does not believe in military discipline, He is a perfectionist but allows us to make our own mistakes and attain perfection in our pace but in His time.

This level of guidance called His Counsel helps us out when we really mess up somewhere. He does not stand there with crossed arms accusing you like the rest of the whole world, but shows you a way out in the place where you least expect.

We are so afraid of making mistakes that we do not step out at all. Mistakes are maybe not part of religion, but they are definitely part of relationship. God knows that, and that is why in His way of guidance He has made provision for counsel. To guide us out of any mess that we may get into.

Job 12:13
To God belong wisdom and power;counsel and understanding are his.

Don't be afraid of taking your messes to God. If we follow His counsel, He can make glorious things come forth out of our mistakes.But if we are going to regret and condemn ourselves living out of guilt and self pity, our life would become a burden.

Level IV - Watches over me

God's way of saying this is "with My eye upon you". What God really means is that, God does not just give guidance and gets done with our life. He is always watching over us. He involves Himself in every small activity of our life, and loves it even more when we acknowledge Him in all our daily routines.

We really are never alone, God never leaves us that way. He is watching over each of our thought, emotion, and action. Not like a policeman, but as someone who wants to make sure that we get nothing lesser than the BEST.

When you are traveling alone, or awake working late hours at night , or in the midst of people among whom you look really small, or in the midst of a crisis all by yourself. Just pause!! BE still, and see WHO's eye is on you.

May God' s guidance be with you throughout your journey!!!