I Samuel 14:8-10
‘Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them. If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you’; then we will stand in our place and not go up to them. “But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hands; and this shall be the sign to us.”’
The Lord guides us in many ways. The first topic to address is His lordship. Are we His children who want His guidance or not. He guides both. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.” What is true for the king, is true for us all. At some points in life, the Lord guides everyone.
When it comes to His children who want His guidance, the first is Proverbs 16:9, “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” This seems to be us in charge, but it’s actually God. The Lord does much directing that we aren’t aware of. Part of the Lord’s prayer is “lead us not into temptation” and “deliver us from evil”, (Matthew 6:13). Sometimes we are aware of this, sometimes He does the guiding without our knowledge.
Much guidance comes from the bible. It tells us things to avoid, things to do and so on. Another type of guidance comes from open and closed doors. Revelation 3:8a says, “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut…” He might do this as a response to a prayer, other times He just guides this way. I’ve heard a pastor say this, “Lord, I’m going to do this. If it’s a bad idea, could you close the door?”
Another type of guidance is a fleece. Gideon prayed for this and God honored it. The Lord told Gideon, a humble man, that He would save Israel by his hand. Gideon wanted more confirmation. He prayed, Lord, if You will save Israel by my hand, then allow this cloth (a fleece) that I leave outside tonight be dry and the ground wet when I wake up tomorrow. It was. He then asked for the opposite, the fleece wet and the ground dry. It was. This was enough for Him (Judges 6:36-40). He successfully beat their captors and became free again. This method isn’t common as some think it’s testing God. I could see this being used over something big like changing jobs or moving.
However, today’s passage has Jonathon doing a mix of a fleece and a closed/open door. The Lord honored them. They went up as he hoped and He saw this as the Lord blessing his idea. God gave them the victory, so that seems to be confirmation.
Another type of guidance is sensing God’s peace. Philippians 4:6,7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” At times He warns us not to proceed by interrupting our peace. This is part of what I consider a closed door. While it isn’t circumstantial, the closed door is in our hearts.
Much of life is making decisions. Sometimes He clearly guides, other times we decide without obvious guidance. He wants us to use our best judgment.
Lord, thank You for Your guidance. There is much peace to be gained knowing that You assist us in guidance.