“Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the
pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”
—Exodus 13:22 (NRSV)
The people of the Exodus were guided by God via the visible pillar of cloud and
pillar of fire. Never did God’s Presence leave them.
Even though we live in this
post-incarnation and post-salvation age, complete with the Presence of God
within us via the Holy Spirit, we have nothing as overt as the pillar of cloud
or the pillar of fire to guide us in the direction God would have us go. We
will struggle to discern the way we should go, and if we are normal people we
will make many poor and untimely decisions.
But there are three reliable ways
we can ‘hear’ God’s guidance.
1. We Hear God by Our S.H.A.P.E.
The critical question for every
single one of us is, “Who has God made me to be?”
We can spend all our lives
unpacking that one, and the answer often changes. But when we acknowledge our
spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, personality, and experiences we get a
very good idea of the sort of things that we could or should be doing.
We ought to accept the song in our hearts; that definitive
purpose we can found all our lives upon. It’s best to live as the first version
of ourselves, not the second version of another person.
2. We Hear God Through the Bible
People often complain they don’t
hear God’s answer to their prayers. Aren’t we supposed to hear God? But God has
already spoken through
his Word, and we possibly agonise too much over many life issues that are already
covered in the Bible. There are many no-brainers within the Christian faith,
because of what is written in the Bible.
The Bible tells us we ought to
forgive; God’s Word tells us this is nonnegotiable. So why do we proudly defy
the Word of God and insist on unforgiveness? This is but one example of the
thousands of practical items of guidance in the Bible. It is our instruction
book for many perplexing situations of life.
Through our application of reading
God’s Word, we are invited to listen through the threads of our lives for what
God is already doing and through what is being prepared to be done. Let us
notice the coincidences; when coincidences are more commonplace our prayer life
is working. Through diligent prayer, also, our dispositions in life change for
the better.
3. We Hear God Through the Christian
Community
Some unwise Christians believe
they can survive without the Church, but these choose ignorance in place of
true confirmation.
The people of God are often best
placed to affirm the Spirit’s leading. If our personal sense of ministry call
is not affirmed by others in the church we may have due cause to reflect a
little more before we decide the direction of our service.
***
There are three ways God guides us
in life: 1) by the passions and purposes in our hearts; 2) by what is written
in the Word of God; and, 3) by what trusted others speak into our lives through
their encouragement. These three are our pillars of cloud by day and our
pillars of fire by night.
© 2012 S. J. Wickham.
Acknowledgement: Dr. Brian Harris, Principal of Vose Seminary, Perth, Western Australia.
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