guidance from the Lord

20
Mar
2012

Do You Need Guidance From the Lord

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” (Psa 32:8)

Journal,

It was a new venture for us. We had no outside source of income, no congregation to speak of. What we had was a stewardship from the Lord. That by itself did not cure-all the battles of my mind. I needed help from the Lord.

I don’t recall for certain which of the Psalms my attention was fixed on, but it may well have been Psalm 32. That Psalm certainly fit my need of the moment.

Here is the story of …

What Am I Doing Here?

Here we were on our own. We had just begun our pioneer work of bringing Christian Challenge into existence. It was 1976.

What a venture. Our rented house was not much to look at. We had no outside source of income, no denomination to back us up, and, a tiny little congregation, mostly my family.

Anyway, I’m in bed and my mind is being filled with troublesome thoughts. “What am I doing here?” “How will I take care of my family?” “How will we make it?” “How will we live?” “Are we going to make it?”

That is when I had this nudging in my spirit to get up, that the Lord wanted to have a word with me. (Yes, God does speak to His people.)

I went to our kitchen table with my Bible. When I sat down my Bible opened to the book of Psalms. As I looked at the pages before me, I began to hear in my spirit some instructions from the Lord. He spoke to my heart about this book, that the book of Psalms was placed in the sacred Scriptures for a reason.

The Psalms teach us how to think, how to pray, what to believe, how to prosper in the Lord, how to worship, and on and on and on.

As the Lord was speaking to my heart I felt this wonderful refreshing. I got up from the table thoroughly reinvigorated. All doubt had disappeared.

And from that moment on I’ve held a deeper love for the book of Psalms.

So, what’s so special about Psalm 32? This Psalm has a unique place in God’s book. It is known as….

 

A Psalm of Enlightenment

Actually Psalm 32 is quoted from by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans. That certainly speaks to its relevance.

As to relevance, in the book of Psalms you will find certain Psalms designated as a ‘miskil’. A miskil is the Lord’s call to contemplate deeply on how He works in our lives. These Psalms are also known as, ‘Psalms of Enlightenment.’

Let’s take a closer look at Psalm 32 –

[David speaks] “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!

“When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.

“I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.

“Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.

“You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

[The Lord’s response.] “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, Otherwise they will not come near to you.

[David again.] “Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart. 

Sins Forgiven – Divine Guidance

In Psalm 32, we find ourselves moving from the joy of having our sins forgiven, to the promise of divine guidance. As I shared earlier, what gives this particular Psalm extra credence is that Paul quotes from Psalm 32 in Romans 4:7,8:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.”

What makes this so special for new covenant believers is that our sins were atoned for at the cross.

While believers do sin, it is enough to say that sin is contrary to our new-found nature in Christ Jesus. Whereas a sinner sins by nature and takes no thought to it. When a child of God sins he hurts in the deep of his heart. A child of God is painfully aware of sin in his life.

What sorrow and pain we could escape by simply being honest about our failings. John said that if we will confess our sin, the Lord is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When forgiveness is in place, the Lord then appoints us to a walk of righteousness. For a walk to be righteous, it has to be under His guidance. David said,

“He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3)

And so in Psalm 32, we also hear the Lord say,

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

“Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.” (Psalm 32:8,9)

Living with the Peace of God

A major problem some believers have is with bull headedness along with an uncontrolled thought life. This is why Peter tells us to gird up the loins of our mind in keeping our thoughts under control.

Where do we begin? God said through Isaiah,

“Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” 

We were all wicked at one time. God forgave us. Now it is time to forsake our past way of doing and thinking. Now we must learn to follow the Lord in paths of righteousness.

And this brings us to the mainstay of guidance. Guidance is not a one-time affair. Just as repentance and making spiritual adjustments is not a one-time affair. It is daily business.

When a person truly meets Jesus, something wonderful happens to the human spirit. This happening is so powerful that Paul simply uses the term ‘the peace of God’ to describe it. He says,

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

This supernatural peace is God’s governing kingdom peace. It is His grace at work.

It is this peace that keeps us flowing in the path of righteousness. In one place the prophet said,

“He makes peace your borders.” 

In another place we are told to let peace be the umpire in our hearts. (Cf. Psalm 147:14; Col 3:16)

God’s Training in Righteousness – Covenant Consciousness

Listen carefully to the apostle:

“You [Timothy] … from childhood have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2Ti 3:14-17)

When the apostle Paul spoke of our training in righteousness, he was addressing a makeover of both our spiritual and our thought life. We learn to apply God’s Word to all situations. We learn to think God’s thoughts, and speak God’s Word, and walk in God’s ways.

In all this is where we learn the flow of peace. In this walk of righteousness we begin to have formed in us, ‘covenant consciousness.’

What did the Lord say in Psalm 32? He said, 

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” 

A true covenant walk, works around a relationship. Jesus said,

“I am the door of the sheep…if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

Going In and Out

To go in and out speaks of a covenant walk. It speaks of the leading of the Shepherd. The paths of righteousness includes ‘doors and opportunities of faith.’

In the new covenant, Jesus personally leads each believer, each marriage, each family, and each flock in paths of righteousness that is according to His will. This is what the Lord was teaching David in his Psalm of contemplation.

Some believers struggle because they’ve not yet learned to trust the Lord completely to lead their life. Others struggle because they fear that following after the Lord will mean suffering. Certainly to walk with the Lord can include suffering, but sufferings are usually trying situations.

Yet even in the trying circumstances the promise remains. Isaiah said,

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You.”

Well, there is much more that can be said, but let’s stop for now. Are you ready to take the trappings off? Think about it. Guidance from the Lord is only a breath away.

Much love and blessings coming your way,

Buddy

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04
Oct
2011

Walking Through the Passages of Life

 

“You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah.

 

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.” (Psa 32:7-8)

 

No matter what your struggle in life is about, the Lord will faithfully show you how to make the passage into His victory. He never writes any of His children off.

 

Every passage of life leads to the greater victory. Paul said it would be from glory to glory. 


 

Journal,

It happened Wednesday, August 28th,1974.

The day earlier I had turned my resignation letter to my presbyter. I was leaving the denomination that I had been a part of both as a pastor and as an evangelist. I will never forget the words that he spoke. He said, “Brother Martin, these people will never have anything else to do with you.” 

I knew he meant these words in a kindly way. The presbyter was well aware that the nature of that denomination was pretty much to ostracize anyone who left them. I also knew that, but it didn’t matter. The Lord had already placed on my heart a directive.

Nevertheless, at my office the following morning a gloomy dark cloud hovered over me. I felt a loneliness that I wasn’t familiar with. That is when I reached for my Bible and fell to my knees. The chair in front of me became my altar.

An astonishing thing happened. My Bible fell open and my eyes looked at this one Scripture;

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Php 1:6)

 

 

The cloud disappeared

Joy filled my heart. I jumped up, grabbed the phone to call Betty.

What I didn’t know was that at the very moment Betty was having her own struggles. And at that same moment the Lord had spoken words of life to my sweet Betty. We were in this struggle together.

Before I could get out of my mouth what the Lord had said to me, Betty said, “Honey, listen to what the Lord just shared with me!”

She began to read,

“For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Gal 1:10)

That was it! We were passing through another life gate together. God had given us life words to live by, words to face the future together.

After all, Jesus said,

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” (Joh 6:63)

 

 

The Passages of Life

A life gate can be anything you face in life that could well result in a major change in your future. I call these life passages simply because it is the Lord who gives you the keys for making the passage. He gives you words to live by.

But there is one truth I really want to get across. It does not matter what you are struggling over. It could be about a divorce, about your job, about friendships, about loneliness, or a new marriage. It just doesn’t matter. The Lord has promised to help all His children make these passages through life.

A number of followers of Jesus were leaving Him. We hear this conversation between the Lord and Peter:

“So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘You do not want to go away also, do you?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.’” (Joh 6:67-68)

When Peter said that Jesus had words of eternal life, he wasn’t thinking of the gospel message that brings us salvation. To him eternal life had to do with a kind of spiritual life that only comes from the Lord. It is in this life that we would receive words from God to live by.

Every child of God will have life gates to walk through. You may call them something else, but the point is that it is in these times that we need to have something by way of direction from the Lord. Sometimes the need is in a desperate moment. At other times it may simply be a need for reassurance.

 

Words to Live By

As long as I can remember the Lord has given me words to live by. Sometimes these words come in a dream or in a vision. Sometimes I simply hear them in my heart. But most of the time they come when I am reading and meditating upon the Scriptures themselves.

One of my more recent examples had to do with my bout with cancer. I well remember when the Lord told me to ‘expect the unexpected.’ Of course this had to do with my miracle healing.

I’ve often shared my testimony of healing. But I feel that the Lord wanted me to share it again. So, here it is again:

 

Expect the Unexpected

 It was August 6, 2007. I had been in cancer treatment for a while. The findings were not good. Lymphoma had spread throughout my chest area and was now into my bone marrow. Our local hospital could do no more for me. They were sending me to M. D. Anderson in Houston. Everything pointed to a marrow transplant. (Pretty invasive procedure.)

Things were alright between me and the Lord. I had told the church that it was a win-win situation. The only concern I had involved which kind of bone marrow transplant would I have to go through. One was more invasive than the other. 

I hadn’t asked anyone to lay hands on me. This time it was different. I knew all this had to be just between me and the Lord. Any laying on of hands would have to be His hands. 

That day I am having my morning devotion on a hill behind the church. While reading In the book of Isaiah, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, ‘Expect the unexpected.’

When I looked up at the high wire directly over my head there sat a beautiful dove. I sat there just looking at her. The dove would look at me. She remained there until I stood up to walk home. Then she flew ahead of me towards the house.

It has always amazed me how of the Lord will speak to my heart while I am reading the Scriptures. That morning I was taking my devotion from the New Living Translation. Here is the part where the Lord spoke to me:

“Oh, that You would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in Your presence! As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil,

“Your coming would make the nations tremble. Then Your enemies would learn the reason for Your fame!

“When You came down long ago, You did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked!” (Isa 64:1-3 NLT)

I shared with the church what the Lord had said. I did not know what ‘expect the unexpected’ meant. I thought perhaps I would receive the less of the two invasive stem cell transplant procedures. After all that was the purpose of sending me to Houston.

At M. D. Anderson I was put through a battery of tests. They gave me a thorough work through. Betty and Nathan were with me.

When we met with my primary physician, he went down the line on each test that M.D. Anderson had made. With each test he said, ‘No cancer.’

At some point between Pineville, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, the Lord had granted me a sovereign miracle of grace. It’s been over four years now. Every checkup carries the same message of ‘no cancer.’

And that is the story of my healing from the Lord

Why am I sharing these testimonies? Perhaps one of my readers will catch a spark of faith in knowing that God is no respecter of persons.

There are so many instances I would like to share with you. Here is one more.

 

The ‘What am I doing here’ Word

It was in 1971. Betty and I and our two sons were in Los Alamos, New Mexico, to raise up a mission work for our denomination. Once again I am facing a moment of, ‘What am I doing here?’ My heart is puzzled.

On top of everything, I am homesick. New Mexico was far removed from Central Louisiana. We were tired from having traveled a heavy road of evangelism. And now we are going to raise up a new work?

But the Lord had other plans. While reading the Scriptures again I find myself being pulled into a conversation between Jesus and Peter. Suddenly the question that Peter asked of the Lord was my question. Listen:

“Peter began to say to Him, ‘Behold, we have left everything and followed You.’

Jesus responded,

“Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.” (Mar 10:28-30)

Once again I had received my word of comfort from the Lord. And once again we were about to pass through another life gate.

It has come true – I am unable to count the blessings of the Lord that have come upon my home.

Even in our darkest trials, I can still say, ‘Thank you Lord. You have always been with me.’

 

It has to become real personal

Don’t ever make it about religion.

The heart of the new covenant is entirely fixed on a relationship with the heavenly Father and with His son Jesus. As Jesus was praying, we hear Him say,

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (Joh 17:3)

Knowing God means that you have a knowing relationship with Him. Jesus said,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (Jn10:26-28)

 

Following in His footsteps…

Think about it.

Have you passed the major gate of life? (This is where Jesus Christ truly becomes your Lord and Savior.)

Do you know God as your Father, or is it simply religion that you know?

Jesus said,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (Joh 14:6)

The only question that remains is,

‘Where are you taking me Jesus?’

And the Lord says,

‘Walk with Me. I am taking you to My Father’s house. Are you ready to walk from glory to glory?’

 

The Lord wants to minister to your heart. Listen to Candy Christmas as she sings, “I Know the Master of the Wind.’ 

 

 

Much love coming your way,

Buddy

 

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