God's guidance

"Seeking God's guidance is not being passive and letting circumstances dictate. It's about seeking wisdom, exercising judgement, meditating on Scripture, praying and taking responsibility and initiative." (John Ortberg)

That's a summary of some teaching I heard in a video series by John Ortberg a few weeks ago. It started me thinking about how I seek God' guidance in my own life. What does it look like? Does it fit with what Ortberg says here? Or do I see it as something different? What does Scripture say?

As I thought about this, I was reminded of the prayer of Solomon when he first took the throne of Israel. 2 Chronicles 1:10 records his request for wisdom, "Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?" Solomon asked for wisdom so he could do the job God had given him to do. He knew he needed God's guidance to lead Israel.

I think that part is something we're good at. We know how to ask God for wisdom - for guidance. But I think we often struggle with the next part of it. We ask and then sit back and wait. But if we look at Solomon's life, we can see that after he asked, he went about doing something to govern and lead Israel. He took action after his prayer and through the rest of his life.

I think that's where we can sometimes struggle - I know I do. We ask and then we wait for God to miraculously do something and we let circumstances dictate our lives. Sometimes God might move miraculously to our prayers for guidance and wisdom. But, I think most of the time, God's guidance comes as we move forward in little ways. As we go about doing what seems best, God gives us the guidance we asked for along the way.

And that's where what Ortberg had to say in the teaching I heard by him is so true. We don't let circumstances dictate what happens in our lives. We pray and then we act in accordance with what Scripture says and what we know to do.