Living the Christian Life – Chapter 9: Led Through Godly Counsel

The writer of Proverbs declares:

“Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the
multitude of counselors there is safety” (11:14 NKJV).

Thank God for the Body of Christ. Paul writes using this metaphor:

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. …
But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. … The eye cannot say
to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have
no need of you” (1 Corinthians 12:7, 20-21 NKJV).

We need each other. No one is able to fully comprehend the leading of God in its totality because we all have our weaknesses or blind spots. We should seek out mature men and women of God who can act as sounding boards for the direction that we believe we’re hearing from the Lord. This may be your spouse, your father or mother, your pastor or your priest, a small group leader, your brother or sister—anyone who is mature in the Lord and has demonstrated a proven track record of hearing God’s voice.

Led Through Confirmation

A Bible principle that is also used in our modern-day courts of law says, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (2 Corinthians 13:1 NLT).

Confirmation is reassurance we receive from the Lord that, yes, we have heard from God, and we are on the right track in following His guidance. Confirmation can come in a thousand different ways—it’s up to the Lord which way He chooses. It’s wonderful to know that the Lord promises us that He will confirm His word to us. And since He will, then we can—and should­—ask Him to do so for us, especially when we are facing major life decisions.

Led Through Circumstances

Some Christians are led entirely by circumstances and completely ignore the other means of God’s guidance. Others completely ignore the circumstances of life and step out in what they might call faith—and what others would call presumption. If we walk in the balance of these two extremes, many times the Lord will confirm His direction to us through three, four, or more of these ways—especially when we are in the process of making an important, life-changing decision.

Now it is important to point out that God will lead our steps, but it won’t always be spectacular. Some are constantly looking for a supernatural display of some kind. They are looking for the Lord to guide through dreams, visions, prophecies, angels, and voices. While these are all ways that God can, and sometimes does, lead His people, most of the guidance from God occurs when we’re not even conscious of it. The Lord will direct the circumstances of our lives to move us here and there as He desires. He will also speak to our heart His desires, and many times we won’t even recognize that He is the one directing us. We may think it is merely our own good ideas.

It is not until we look back over a period of time that we discover how He has ordered our steps! We can be confident that God will, from time to time, intervene in our lives to keep us from messing up His plan—as long as our hearts are right before Him, and we are truly seeking to be obedient to His will.

As we said, all guidance must conform to Scripture. In chapter 10, we will learn how to read the Bible for inspiration and comfort, and we will also learn how to study to grow in our knowledge of God and His ways.