When God Leads the Way

He leads me beside the still water. He restores my soul; He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

You have the saying let go and let God. Why is it so hard for us to let go and let God? I love the song Jesus Take the Wheel by Carrie Underwood, for it encourages us to let God take control. We like to take things under our control and feel better when it happens that way. It is another different story when we don’t have dominance and can do nothing about it. God should lead us from the beginning to the end. We can not say that we will not face any troubles if the leads, just that he will take care of us in the process of the difficulty.

The realist story from Egypt is one of the great lessons we can learn about the Lord leading the way. They have been in capacity for many years as slaves in Egypt under Pharaoh’s leadership. God then sent Moses to deliver his people from this bondage. From Egypt, God led them and understood their physical, mental, and spiritual state. Knowing his children, he did not lead them through the shortest route, for they could handle it. The key is that the shortest route was not the best for the people. God knew they were still young and growing in the faith. He knew this route would be grueling and that they would turn back from him. God knows our hearts, what we can handle, and what should take time to manifest.

Life has provided us with many shortcuts. The Lord cautions us against moving without his guidance or hand about us. One other bible lesson I love is from Ezra. The book of Ezra helps us learn about the return of the exiles of Israel and the completion and dedication of the new temple in Jerusalem. In Ezra 8, we find a man with a group of Israelites ready to return to Jerusalem. Before they can go back, they seek God’s hand. The main reason was for protection for the journey ahead and the work that they had to accomplish. Before he could do anything, he humbled himself before the Lord through fasting and prayer. He knew he needed God’s hand to lead him. It is noted in this chapter that Ezra did not want to bother the king by asking for protection for the journey. He depended on the Lord for safety and to lead the way. Ezra opted to trust the Lord rather than ask for security for himself and his companions. The king would have offered them the security. Ezra knew whom he believed in and that he would grant them safety in returning to their land.

The two bible stories show that God will care for us if we let him lead the way. For the children of Israel, he became a literal leader, fire by day and cloud by night. The lifting of the cloud meant the people began to move, staying they would stay. Today, we have the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit counsels, comforts, and leads us to truth. When God leads, we learn to wait upon him and his timings. We also learn to trust him. God does not only point the way he leads the way.

My prayer for us is we allow God to lead us. To surrender to him and for his name’s sake, let him lead us in paths of righteousness. May he reveal the proper steps to take and give us divine strategies for the success of what lies before us and our destinies?