Having convinced us of the importance of guarding our hearts, Solomon urged three specific actions to make this practical. We’ve considered the first: we are to ignore false directions (v. 24). As we said earlier, if someone you have regular contact with habitually gives you information that contradicts your road map or GPS, drop him off at the next truck stop and don’t look back!
Read MoreCategory Archives: God’s Will
Good Directions
By now, I trust that Solomon has sufficiently motivated you to guard your heart from invasive, detrimental influences and to cultivate a hunger for knowledge of God. Hopefully, we possess adequate discernment to distinguish between helpful and harmful input. If not, deeper knowledge of God is readily available through His Word. If you are reading these pages, you are most likely reading the Scriptures.
Read MoreThe Straight Way
God has established a paradigm to help us escape the trap of worry. This cause-and-effect principle is as much a part of creation as the law of gravity. He directs three commands to the child of God. They are our responsibility: “Trust . . . do not lean . . . acknowledge. . . .” The fourth verb—make straight—is part of a simple declaration of God’s promise, His part of the covenant.
Read MoreAgents of God’s Will
Having reviewed the attributes of God, focusing on His sovereignty and goodness, David examines himself (Psalm 5:7–8). But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, at Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You. O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; make Your way straight before me.
Read MoreGratitude for God’s Guidance
O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; make Your way straight before me. (Psalm 5:8) Our Father, for centuries, You have used Your Word in the hearts of men and women in cultures and countries around this world. You have sent to difficult and obscure places faith-filled missionaries with the Word of God tucked away in their hearts. They have declared it, and You have blessed it.
Read MoreThe Case against Vanilla
I CANNOT IMAGINE ANYTHING more boring and less desirable than being poured into the mold of predictability. Few things interest me less than the routine, the expected, the status quo. A fresh run at life by an untried route will get my vote every time. Stay open-minded for a moment, and I’ll try to show you why.
Read MoreDestination Unknown
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING? You remember Thomas Henry Huxley. Devoted disciple of Charles Darwin. Famous biologist, teacher, and author. Defender of the theory of evolution. Bold, convincing self-avowed humanist. Traveling lecturer. After another series of public assaults against truths Christians held sacred, Huxley was in a hurry to catch his train to the next city.
Read MoreFulfillment of the Impossible
AT LONG LAST, at the appointed time, Abraham and Sarah received the fulfillment of God’s promise. Ninety-year-old Sarah gave birth to a son and, in obedience to God, named him Isaac, which means “he laughs.”
Read MorePerfect Timing
GOD ISN’T in a hurry, so He didn’t have a problem waiting a quarter century before fulfilling His promise and allowing Abraham and Sarah to conceive. Who knows why He waited that long?
Read MoreNavigating without a Map
WHEN LOT was making a decision about which land to choose, he didn’t consider God as a factor in shaping his future. He made all his calculations based upon the potential influences of nature and humanity.
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