“Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and constantly loves those who love him and obey his commands” Deuteronomy 7:9.

After traveling in our sailboat for three months, we were all excited to have a rental car and be heading off to town in Puerto Rico to gather the supplies we needed. We had a makeshift map and spotty Wi-Fi and we were off.

Much to our astonishment, we had driven for twenty minutes and not found a single street sign! How were we to know where to turn? Which direction should we go? What a frustrating experience. We were lost without proper directions.

In the same way, I can get lost each and every day if I don’t look to the road signs that God puts out for me. When I hear that still, small voice nudging me to hold my husband’s hand, to give an extra-long hug to a child who needs it, or to make that long overdue call to a friend, I need to follow those directions. These are the road signs God puts out for me in order to show His love to those around me. Now, isn’t that what we are called to do?

When we listen to God, He will pour out the spirit of wisdom upon us and make us wise. He will let us live in peace and safety, unafraid of harm. When we listen and obey, our paths will be straight and we will not question which way to go. He will guide and direct us at every turn.

Thank you God that you know the way. You ARE the Way, the Truth and the Life. You guide and direct us and show us the path we should take. Please help us to remember to follow your directions each and every day and not rely on our own understanding. Amen.

By Corice Peters
used by permission

FURTHER READING

Our Steps

He Will be My Guide

Set Your Compass in the Right Direction

The post Where are the Road Signs? appeared first on Thoughts About God.

Does the maze of life have you in its rushing and running grasp today?

Do you need calm in your being and direction in your steps? God promises to give you exactly that. Let His word seep into your heart and pray this prayer with a sincere and grateful heart because HE IS your hope today

“Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” Psalm 25:4 & 5

Father in Heaven, Thank you for the promise and hope of Your word. Thank you that You can be counted on to guide me. Today I need to walk in the hope that only You can give. My way is unclear and at times, confusing and rushing.

Show me Your ways, Lord. Show me how You would walk in these places. Teach me Your paths of grace and mercy and integrity and love. Help me to grasp Your ways so I can walk securely in them even in insecure places. I need Your perspective today.

Guide me in Your truth, Lord. Without Your Word active in my heart and mind I cannot know Your truth. Help me to make time to read my Bible and to think on it and let it penetrate my heart. Lord, Your Word will guide me as a beacon and a light. Forgive me when I have left it on the shelf or have simply grabbed a verse and run off for the day, quickly forgetting what I read.

Thank you that You promise to guide me and teach me as I let Your truth impact my heart and my mind. You alone are the One who restores and renews my spirit and brings meaning to my life. You bless me. May my heart overflow with thanksgiving to You for Your hand in my life. I will put my hope in you today, all day long.

Remind me by Your Holy Spirit to come into Your quiet presence to think on Your truths and not be distracted. This is the oxygen of my soul. Thank you that You give the hope and help and peace I need today. Thank you that You never cease to call me to Yourself. Help me to respond afresh to Your presence in my life. In Jesus’ strong name I pray, amen.

By Gail Rodgers
Used by Permission

FURTHER READING

• There is Nothing Beyond Your Reach – by Mark Doyle
•  HE IS! – a powerful poem about God
•  When I say… “I am a Christian” – by Carol Wimmer

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The post Prayer for Guidance? appeared first on Thoughts About God.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3 NIV

Christian writer Jon Davis states in his commentary on the Book of James 1:2-3, “We don’t give up or give in. We persevere in faith...”

It is a matter of direction. Where  do I place this trial I am experiencing right now? What do I do with it?

God whispered to me, “I know you are frustrated. After months and months you are not healing. The pain keeps hanging on. Don’t give up or give in. Instead give it over.” I’m to take my trials and give them over to Christ to use as He wills, be it to train me up, to make me more empathetic to others, to strengthen my faith, and above all to give it purpose.

When we know something has purpose, we have hope. And when we have hope, we open our hearts, minds and souls to give…

G – God-focused
I – Intellectually – with my mind
V – Vocationally – with my body and ability
E – Emotionally – with my heart

Then pure joy will be possible despite what is going on in our lives.

No matter who we are, how old we are, or how physically capable we are, we can all give. God has blessed us with experiences, talents, and Spirit- guided incites that we can offer to others. When we give it all over to Him — the good, the bad and the ugly — then He can mold it into something of use. As we begin to see the purpose taking shape in the potter’s hand, we have the ability to persevere. But when we can’t see it taking shape yet, we must ask God to give us the faith to trust HE will eventually use it.

One day, we will look back, smile, and say, “OK. Now I get it.”

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

What is He calling you to give over, today? Give it in joy. It’s better than holding on to it as you pout, or tossing it away angrily. The only way to not boomerang our trials is to place them in nail-scarred hands that never let go.

By Julie Cosgrove
Used by Permission

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The post A Matter of Direction appeared first on Thoughts About God.

• In verse four we see that the Lord called to Saul.
• In response, verse five has Saul asking, “Who are you, Lord?”
• Verse six Jesus identifies Himself and instructs Saul to go into the city and get further  instructions.
• We find in verse seven that the Lord blinded Saul and that he had to be led by others to the city.
• Verse seventeen tells us that Ananias, in response to the Lords directives, prayed over Saul and his sight was restored and was he was baptized.
• Verse twenty says that he immediately went to the synagogues to preach that Jesus is the Son of God.

From this progression of events we can see parallels for our own lives.

-God calls out to us
-We question the call
-He gives us directions for finding Him
-When we follow the directions, we receive our spiritual sight.
-We go and tell others that Jesus is the Son of God.

My prayer for us this week

“Our heavenly Father, thank you for the call, thank you for allowing us to question and then giving us direction to your Son Jesus. Thank you for restoring our spiritual sight that we might fix our eyes upon Jesus and follow instructions to tell others about Him. Amen and amen.”

By Alec Niemi

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