They say that life is a journey and everyone needs direction because left alone we mess up. No one wants to take the wrong route only to discover much later that you are lost or headed in the wrong direction. One of the promises that God gives us is that if we trust in Him and lean not on our understanding, if we acknowledge him in all our ways, then He will lead us and direct our path. The thing with God is that he leads us in the way that we do not expect. His ways are not our ways, and the tendency is for us to panic. Take the children of Israel, for instance. God leads them by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day through the wilderness into the promised land, but they still had a hard time trusting him. If you have ever had a chance to go through that wilderness, you would understand why they had a hard time trusting because it is miles of nothing but rock and sand and heat. God is the Alpha and the Omega, and He sees the whole picture of our journey from where He seats. Who else would be the perfect and most suited to direct us apart from Him? Trust in Him even when it seems that where he is leading does not make sense. He knows the way, and He sees the entire picture.

Even when the path ahead of us seems safe and lucrative, we should not lean on our understanding. Remember when the children of Israel attacked Ai without consulting God because it seemed a small city to attack? They were in for a rude shock. It is when Joshua sought the Lord that he was made aware that there was sin in the camp.

May we always seek the Lord and trust in his leading, even when we think we know the road to take.

1: What is your default system of making decisions, do you go with your gut or do you turn to God?

2: In what area of your life right now do you need God’s direction?