Inward Direction

“You will . . be led forth with peace.” Isaiah 55:12 NIV

“God’s peace, don’t go forward without it.”

My thoughts today are about “inward direction.”

The reality is that God wants to guide and direct your life, and you very much need Him to do so. Isaiah wrote, “You will go out in joy and be led forth with peace.” Isaiah 55:12 NIV. Being without God’s direction means that you are making decisions with limited information at the very best. Even the information that you have about the past and the immediate moment is less thorough than what there is to know, and I don’t need to remind you of our common inability to foresee what is yet future.

God knows no such limitations, “declaring the end from the beginning” Isaiah 46:10 NKJV. Now, if you are expecting an audible voice like my smart phone’s Global Positioning System, telling you the exact distance to your next turn, when and which way to turn, and showing an overall, detailed summary of the journey from where you are to where you are going, as well as “checking the traffic for you” – that is just not likely. As the Almighty, that is well within His capacity to do so, but nothing that I have yet experienced. God speaks to you inwardly, His Spirit communicating with your spirit.

Have you ever been about to decide or do something, and just “felt uneasy” about that, in a way that you could probably not explain to someone? I have, and I am learning to listen to those moments when “something just doesn’t seem right.” When there is no peace in your heart, it is either not the right thing, or not the best time. Learn to listen with your heart as well as consider with your head. Your God-given intelligence and good judgment in contemplation and choices is important; purposefully including God in your deliberations of choosing and living wisely is essential!

God’s promise is this: “The Lord is compassionate, and when you cry to Him for help, He will answer you . . when you go through hard times, He Himself will be there to teach you and you will not have to search for him any more. If you wander off the road to the right or to the left, you will hear His voice behind you saying, ‘Here is the road. Follow it!’” Isaiah 30:19-21 TEV. God’s peace, don’t go forward without it!

My dearest of friends, Campbell, a good and wise Scotsman, often spoke of a wonderful old English word, “dispeace.” Dispeace accurately but simply describes “an absence of peace.” You know that nagging sense of unexplainable uneasiness. Likely, that was God’s caution, protecting you from an error of judgment due to any lack of knowledge or applicable experience. He doesn’t tell you that you can’t; He warns that you shouldn’t. God does not shout; He speaks to your heart. You are wise when you listen.

If you walk with a conscious invitation and developed sensitivity to God’s direction in your life, there will be times when what you hear from others doesn’t “ring true,” or a decision you “feel pressed to make” begins to seem less clear, or a course of action you thought you would pursue just “doesn’t seem the best option.”

“You will experience God’s peace . . His peace will guard your heart and mind as you live in Christ Jesus.” Read Philippians 4:6-7 NLT. The peace of God comes to those who have made peace with God. Peace of mind and heart is priceless; don’t sacrifice peace because of some pressure of urgency.

My prayer for you today is that you respect God’s voice in the quiet of your heart.