“But I’ll take the hand of those who don’t know the way,
who can’t see where they’re going.
I’ll be a personal guide to them,
directing them through unknown country.
I’ll be right there to show them what roads to take, make sure they don’t fall into the ditch.
These are the things I’ll be doing for them—
sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute.” Isaiah 42:16

This is such a great reminder to me of how God desires to lead us because…

My personality type is to be aggressive.  I take advantage of opportunities, so much that I don’t let anything stand in my way.  When I run into obstacles I see them as challenges, and immediately try to overcome the problem.

Although this may seem to some people as a strong personality trait, this for me has been a weakness. Until I learn to use this trait correctly, (letting God lead) then I will truly see God’s favor in my life. (Maybe you can relate).

A passage in Romans 8:31 says…  “If God is on our side, can anyone be against us?”  As I read and apply this passage, I come to the understanding that when God is on our side leading us, there is just no possible way anyone can stand against us!  Pretty simple and easy to understand, but yet why do so many of us struggle with complete surrender to God?  Can I be honest with you and say that this is a current struggle for me!

You see, for us to have God on our side would mean that we do things His way (complete surrender).  When we do things His way nothing can stand in our way, so there is no need for our aggressive pursuit to succeed.  We just need to simply put our lives in His hands and let Him lead.  A passage in Proverbs 3:5-6 says…  “With all your heart you must trust the Lord and not your own judgment. Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow”.

Letting God lead to us is a decision we have to make daily.  In so many circumstances of our lives, our first instinct is to reason with what we feel God is leading us to do.  The Lord says: “My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours. Isaiah 55:8-9.  We just don’t always see things as God sees them, so we reason before making decisions.  That may seem smart for someone to do when making choices in our lives.  But when God is calling us to do something that at the moment we may not see as being the best thing for us, reason comes in.  We use reason to find a more comfortable, quick, sense making route to take to arrive to our destination.

Reasoning creates doubt in our minds, then we start to question and doubt what God is leading us to do.  Doubt gives birth to confusion, then we become unsure of what God is really saying.

My prayer is that we continue practicing the art of surrender, not reasoning, nor letting doubt bring confusion to our minds.  Allowing God to work out the plans in our lives He has prepared for us to do.

From The Heart, Dan Chavez