“Being directed by God means He is leading us to the right places, the right people, and accomplishing His purposes in our lives.” Russell E. Spray
I love that quote!
In order to be growing in our relationship with God we need to be directed by Him.
No one knows what lies ahead for any of us.
We all have plans and dreams but the times and seasons of life are in God’s hands.
Sooner or later we will come to a place where the path seems washed out or impassable.
At that moment we can panic and fall into terrible trouble, or we can fixed our eyes on the Lord Jesus and follow carefully His steps before us.
If we will follow Him, we will find out at the end of this year that we have been kept safe by His amazing grace.
Of course, the best way we can be directed by God is by listening to Him as He speaks to us through His word.
Some ideas to get you started
There are some great resources out there. Here are a few:
- YouVersion. It has an online journaling component (which is completely private of course) and it has a feature that gives you 30 different plans to read through the Bible.
- The Daily Bread. These have a Scripture reading and then some thoughts relating to the Scripture.
- “The Book of Common Prayer
”. This has a morning and evening reading and it takes you through the book of Psalms in a month.
The point is: Get into God’s word!
A few tips for while you are reading:
1. Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide you and to reveal God’s truth to you.
2. Try to only read one chapter a day.
3. Use the SOAP method:
- “S” stands for the Scripture. Write down the scripture that stands out for you.
- “O” stands for observation. Write down what the verse is saying to you.
- “A” stands for application. Ask yourself: how will you be different today because of what you just read.
- “P” stands for prayer. Take what God is saying in His word back to Him in prayer.
4. Meditate on the Scripture you chose for the rest of the day. At different breaks during the day, pause and meditate on it and remind yourself of the application that you chose.
Be directed by God this year!
It is through our time with God that His priorities become our priorities, that His passions become our passions, that His desires become our desires.
What does being directed by God mean to you?
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This post is part of a 4 part series on growing deeper in our relationship with God.
Part 1: Resolve to grow in your relationship with God this year
Part 2: Grow deeper in your relationship with God by being directed by Him.
Part 3: Grow deeper in your relationship with God by being delighted in Him.
Part 4: Grow deeper in your relationship with God by being dynamic for Him.
A Few Related Posts You May Find Useful:
Sermon Synopsis 8/12 – Practicing the Presence of God
More self evaluation . . .
Sermon Synopsis 1/24 – A disciple spends time with Jesus
5 things to pray for in 2011
Put the big rocks in first
6 ways to practice the presence of God throughout your day
The solution to busyness
A life changing resolution
Kevin, this is wonderful, practical advice that will make an incredible impact. Staying in the Word is not an invitation to legalism as some tend to believe, it’s life and breath to us. It’s a discipline that transforms our thinking and restores our souls. Thanks. I’m with you and I hope a lot of people take you up on this too.
Thanks Jason!
For me, it is letting things fall where they may. I have goals, but I know they will not be perfect. Maybe He has a better plan and maybe it is better. I am not going to worry about it. Things do happen for a reason…. at least in my opinion.
For example, in November I went to 2 conferences back to back to speak. On both, I had a tire blowout… yep 2 in one week… different tires. I know how to change my tire. However, I met the kindest people who did it for me. I actually stood there speaking with them on the side of the highway and it was interesting to meet them and learn from their stories. It was also humbling. I could have done it myself, been a bit miffed about it, but I was positive, and ended up meeting people. Even if I never see those people again, I will remember their stories. And you know, those flat tires were far from being worries.
I love how God works things out in His perfect way.
Thanks for sharing Nile!
Hi kevs this one really good and I’m proud to you this year you have many page that you post in here..and all of them are talk about life and god, I like it..
I appreciate the words of encouragement Fatima! Thanks!
Kevin, thanks so much for your contribution to the ministry landscape. This is absolutely one of the best posts in the ‘sphere’ right now. Cheers to you!
Thanks Scott!
My schedule for now includes “Utmost”, Margaret Applegarth devotional books [written in the '40s and '50s], Brother Lawence’s “Practice…”, and a portion of OT and NT through Reese’s Chronological Bible. That’s my goal for this year, adjusting, of course. If I can do what I call a “Tithe Time” which I recently posted. Can’t live this way always… God shifts my life and schedule around at times… but, when possible that is my goal. WHY? More of the Lord poured into my heart, soul, spirit as constantly as possible.
That’s sounds like an awesome plan Joanne!
Thanks for sharing.
Jason was right, glad I stopped by. Encouragement is always needed it seems. It is refreshing to have a writer direct others to the words of God.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing Floyd!