The Guiding Hand of God

Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you. [...]

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

So, looking at these past few weeks... whoa. The hand of God is so clearly upon my life... even my daily living, where I should go and where I shouldn't yet... and I think it's that joy and delight and wonder of actually being able to walk with God so closely that He literally directs your every step...

I'm so touched. That He cares so much for even someone so lowly like me. So dear brothers and sisters, I really want to encourage you... if even i, a sinner, a skeptic, a stupid person, can experience God in such a real and intimate and tangible way... how much more can you experience God so real in your own life too... the way is open to Him, if only you will have faith like a little child, to ask Him to direct your every step!

God longs to be so close to us, that He would guide us in every step we take. He longs to be our God, to care for us every step of the way. Oh, how He so longs to be our Shepherd, to lead us to green pastures and still waters! Oh, how He wants to be so intimately involved in our lives... if only we would humbly let go of our pride and embrace Him! Oh, how the Scriptures shimmer, with constellations of declarations, of God's intense passion to be our God and Shepherd:

Jeremiah 6:16
This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. [...]

Matthew 11:29-30
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Yes, let us have childlike hearts of faith. To ask our Daddy for His guidance in all these little things. To learn to seek first the counsel of the Lord. To seek His will in all that we do. To take His yoke upon ourselves and learn from His ways... and we will find rest for our souls. For His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

It's true, yes, we'll experience periods of downness and dullness. But even in the darkest night, let's trust with childlike faith His promise that if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. And if we seek Him with all our hearts, He will let Himself be found by us. Let us have faith in God. That He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Let us not become faithless, but let us become faithful.

Let's seek God, ok? :) Let's be more and more ready, always making it a point to ask the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us into all truth. And let's be ready to obey and drop everything if need be, to do His will the moment He says it. And we will find our lives truly worth living.

I'll end off this post with the Lord's tender promise again:

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

The Lord cares for us so intensely. Will you let the Triune God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - guide you and lead you... to be your God, and you his child? :D

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.