New Year, New Way
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye. - Psalm 32:8
Let me start with a question, Are you going to let God lead you all the way? Life is a journey from here to there. Today I want to say that God initiated a journey from here to there, God will make it evident that you are going to make that journey. But if it is not a God initiated journey then God will be silent.
Well, today, I want to expand upon that discussion. I don’t want you to think that in a God initiated journey that He allows us to take it into our own hands. Do not take the journey and move from here to there. We need God to guide us all the way through our journey. If it is a God initiated journey, He will not only tell you to go, but He guides you all the way.
Let us explore the idea, as we look at our Scripture today from Psalm 32:8 - “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with my eye.”
God does not say that He will instruct you and teach you in the way that you go if He has the time. Do you know what that means? God always has time for you. It does not matter if your journey is a short journey, a medium size journey, or an extremely long journey, the God of this universe has time for you.
The Lord, if it is a God initiated journey, always has time to guide us from here to there. He never makes the excuse of having no time.
Now think about your life. How many times have you been disappointed in the last two years? You had a plan to go to India, or a trip to go on vacation. But, because of Covid-19 you have canceled all your plans several times. God’s ways and His plans are higher than your ways.
Look at the verses Isaiah 55:8-9 - “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Do you realize that God has made a personal commitment to you? He will always have time for you. The God of the Universe will never tell us that He doesn't have time for us. Let us meditate on this blessed promised scripture verse of Psalm 32:8. It contains three promises for everyone. I will instruct you in the way you should go, I will teach you in the way you should go, and I will guide you with my eye.
I will Instruct you:
This year 2022, God promises us that I will instruct you in the ways you should go.
A man who had bought a brand new car, replaced the warning lights with spoken instructions in a robot voice. In a monotone voice, the voice would say, "Your door isn’t closed properly." "Your seat-belt isn’t fastened properly." On one occasion he heard the voice and it said, "Your fuel level is getting low." The driver thanked it and figured he had sufficient fuel to take him a further 50 miles, ignored the voice and kept driving. A few minutes later, the voice repeated, "Your fuel level is low." The further he drove the more often the voice repeated the warning.
Getting frustrated, he stopped his car, searched under the dashboard, and found the appropriate wires. He quickly pulled the warning light cable, but a few minutes later his car shut down and stopped. The car was out of fuel.
We all have a little voice within. Sometimes God will speak to us in a small voice or your conscience, and sometimes we "pull its wires." We are late to discover that we have run out of fuel.
The Bible says in Isaiah 30:2, ``Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.
I will Teach You:
God promises us here that He will teach us in the way we should go. Our Lord is a teacher and master of all preachers. He does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things, without number.
John 14:26 - “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Jesus promises the Holy Spirit that the Mighty Counselor will teach You All things. He will teach and remind us of the way we should go.
Christ promised a Teacher and a Reminder. When the Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. If we want to enjoy the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit, we must then be students and listeners.
Isaiah 48:17 - “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.” He will teach you profitable things: He will teach you what is right for you and your family. He will teach you what is profitable and what is not profitable for you. He will teach you the present and future of your life. The Lord of Jehovah says in Proverbs 1:3 Surely, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
I will Guide you:
Look at the second half of verse 8 “I will guide you with My eye. That means, I will keep my eye on you and give counseling. Counseling means to be very close; up-close and personal. In business chambers, the instructors would tell the students not to put a lot of things between themselves and the client, to keep their desks small and simple.
Let few things be a barrier between you and the client. It is all about building that relationship and letting them know you care. The Bible says, in Isaiah 49:16, “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands; Your walls are continually before me.” The Lord says He is up close and personal. He cares, and He cares so much you can clearly see His eye is upon you.
When I was in school, I was not the best behaved student, I was just kind of playful, got bored easily and became a distraction to others, but I had some teachers who could give me that teacher's eye. The teacher’s eye did not speak but it shouted “I am watching you.”
What I am trying to say is, God as my Heavenly Father, is giving me that eye as He says “I am watching you.” There is a beautiful scripture verse —Ezekiel 36:9 tells us, “For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown.”
So why is that important? A journey from here to there always has dangers; the journey is always unexpecting. I do not need God's social distancing. I need Him right next to me for His watchful eye. I don’t want to go off the path He has created for me. I am traveling, and I want to be sure that I will follow my path even when other paths seem much better to me than the one I am on. I need His watchful eye to be sure I do not get off course.
I also need God’s protection and His watchful eye is telling me that He is protecting me as I travel from here to there. God’s protection gives me comfort. I need God’s comfort and guidance. And this year God will make a new way for us. Isaiah 43:19 says, “Behold I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
There are Christian men and women who willingly follow a God initiated journey. Those are the ones who get truly blessed. As said in Psalms 32 10-11, “…But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”
And what God says that you will see evidence in your life of God’s loving kindness. You will see His mercy and will be all around His grace. And we Christian men and women will have the inner quality that allows all of us to long for the joy in our hearts.
Conclusion
My question to you today is the same as the title of this sermon. Are you going to let God lead you all the way? God is leading us this year. He will instruct you, teach you in the way you should go; And guide you with his eye. The king will pass through the gate, and go out by it.
Micah 2:13 says, “The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it. Their king will pass before them, with the Lord at their head.”
God initiated a journey from here to there, God will make it evident that you are going to make that journey. Let us turn our ears toward God and hear the instructions he has given to us. God will teach us, for He does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things, without number. We need God’s protection and watchful eyes, so that He may guide our ways. Amen.
