Psalm 32:8-9
Introduction: Everyone needs someone to help them navigate the issues of life.
Unfortunately many people seek the guidance of other people, and find themselves multiplying their problems instead of overcoming them.
According to scripture, the people who are happy and content are the people who have come to recognize the wisdom of God, and the limited knowledge of man.
Let us find out about Our Guide, God.
Let us examine three questions, which will reveal that God is the best qualified to guide our lives.
1. Why do I Need God to Guide Me? (8a).
A. First of all we need God to guide us because life is a journey. This journey will lead us to many byways and highways, which require us to choose the proper path to follow. With God to assist us, we will always choose the right path. Jesus taught us about such a decision in Matthew 7:13-14, here He tells us about two ways we can go. One way will lead to destruction, and sadly there are many people walking this way, but we must abstain from the pressure of following the crowd and follow God. Another way will lead to life, even more sad is the fact that very few people are going that way, therefore to many this way does not seem as exciting or inviting. Once again, you need someone to help you choose the right way, God is that Person.
B. Second we need someone to help us avoid issues. One of the characteristics of Job in Job 1:1, was the fact that he avoided evil. A closer examination of the book will give you the reason. Job was such a great servant of God; he was spiritually mature, he chose to follow after God, he respected God, and avoided evil, therefore God was pleased with him. This led God to challenge Satan, who said he could break Job's faith and lead Job to deny God, but you and I know what happened, Satan failed to break him. When we ignore God's lead or guide we find out that our issues and problems are multiplied. In Psalm 1:1, the person who does not follow the lead of other men is a happy man. In Psalm 31:3, David wrote, "For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me." Our fellowship with God each day, can become a wonderful thing, if we will ask for God's leading and guidance (8a).
2. What will Following God Do For Me? (8b).
A. If you are like the majority of people, you still may need more convincing in order to understand the value of letting God be your Guide. In the Bible, those who followed God had success in life. Abraham followed God (Genesis 12), Moses followed God (Exodus 3-4), and Paul followed God (Acts 9). Did these have any successes in their ministries for God? Yes! Abraham became the father of nations and through him all the nations of the world will one day be blessed. Moses lead the people of Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Paul spread the gospel and became the author of more New Testament books than any other servant of God. What did all these have in common? They let God guide them.
B. What about those who opposed God's guidance? In the Bible, we read about four groups that ignored the word of God. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, and the Sanhedrin. Since they ignored God's guidance what was the outcome? The Pharisees were considered to be whited sepulchres, full of dead men's bones and inwardly unclean (Matthew 23:27). The Sadducees were seen as a group of heretics denying the resurrection (Acts 23:8). The Scribes were servants of the temple priests and were considered even by Jesus to be hypocrites (Luke 11:44). The Sanhedrin, were to be the religious leaders of the day. They should have been dedicated to maintaining the truth of the scriptures, but they became politically motivated, accused Jesus of heresy and then delivered Him to Pontius Pilate all out of jealousy (Matthew 26-27:2). As you see following God leads to success, but ignoring God leads to destruction.
3. How can I know that God is a Trustworthy Guide? (9).
A. First, I believe it is evident that God knows the right way to go. Solomon, the man who asked God for great wisdom, wrote in Proverbs 3:5-6, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Easily, we can see four steps outlined in these verses. 1) Trust God completely, 2) Trust in His guidance, not your understanding, 3) Trust God at all times, therefore focus on Him and give Him credit for the great accomplishments in your life, and 4) Trust His direction, and you will always be where you ought to be.
B. Second, God is always prepared to guide you. Have you ever called a friend or family member with an urgent question about where to go and had them tell you they were too busy at the time to help you? Have you ever called needing help and got an answering machine or voice mail message? God is always there to assist you. God is never too busy to assist, and you will never receive a busy signal, get an answering machine, or get a voice mail message. Jeremiah gave each of us an invitation to great blessings. While telling us about the coming kingdom as promised to David, Jeremiah told us a message from God. In Jeremiah 33:3, he wrote the promise of God, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." We oftentimes think that we know what is going on, that we have all the answers, that we are in charge, but if we will accept the truth of this verse alone, it will tell us, God is prepared to help you, He will answer you, He will show you His power, and what He will do for you defies all explanation.
Conclusion: As you can see, God is the perfect Guide for all that life can dish out.
God wants to help you through life, to overcome issues and to see how wonderful fellowship with Him can be.
Will you let God be your Guide? If you will, I can guarantee that your journey through life, will be more joyful.
