Recognising God’s Guidance—Lawrence

As Christian writers, we ask for God’s guidance in our daily lives. Jesus directed us to do so in his words, Ask, Search, and Knock. Matthew 7:7. We say that we do ask, search and knock but that we do not always receive, find or have the door opened to us when we do. In fact, we do receive answers when we ask, find that for which we are looking when we search, and have the door opened when we knock. The problem is that we do not always recognise the answers to our asking, searching and knocking. Perhaps this is because we have preconceived ideas of the form God’s guidance will take, even should take, and therefore we miss His guidance when it comes.

An example of this in my life is that a fellow TWG member recently telephoned to remind me that the deadline had arrived for sending in our information for the TWG Professional Directory. I told her that I had decided not to participate in it. She reminded me that it was free but I insisted that I did not wish to be included in the directory.

A few days later, a second invitation to send my information in for the TWG Professional Directory arrived by e-mail. It said that the deadline had been extended. I was being given a second chance to participate in this project. I again procrastinated. Finally, on the very last day, I filled out the form and sent it in. It took three tries on God’s part before I realised that God was guiding me to participate in this opportunity. I had not recognised His guidance and did not follow it until the last moment.

In her book, Entering the Castle: An Inner Path To God And Your Soul, Caroline Myss says, Acknowledging the divine means that you have to act when you receive guidance and action means change. God’s guidance is no good to us if we don’t act upon it and, many times, it is the fear of having to change our behaviours, our habits, and our lives that prevents us from acting on God’s guidance.

I see, now, that it was the ego’s reasoning that prevented me from recognising God’s will and caused me to put in jeopardy God’s purpose for my life. Though I do not know what God has for my future nor what God’s intention is for the information that is now in the TWG Professional Directory, I do know that God has my best interest at heart and that there is no cause to fear what He has in store for me.

God uses books, other people, and opportunities to show us His will. We have to be always on the look out for His guidance and pray to God that we recognise and act on His promptings.

© Judith Lawrence

www.judithlawrence.ca

Author of Glorious Autumn Years: Meditations for the Wisdom Years and Grapes from the Vine, a book of mystical poetry; both available at www.lulu.com