Three Promises Of Guidance From The Book Of Proverbs

   Zac Poonen
 
1. First Promise:   
 
Proverbs 3:5 - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and
do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” 
This is a promise of guidance. God will direct our paths 
if we fulfill the conditions. What are the conditions?
 
First of all: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and
don’t lean on your own reason and intelligence. It doesn’t
say there that we should not use our reason or intelligence,
but not to depend on it. God created our powers of reasoning
and our intelligence. But like God created Eve to be subject
to Adam, reason must be subject to the Holy Spirit. A wife
is most useful in a home. But if she takes over the headship
of the home, there will be chaos - as when Eve took over the
headship in Eden and sinned. We have to use our reason 
(and intelligence) to find God’s will, for it is a very capable
“wife”. Without our intelligence we would not be able to
study God’s Word or even live in this world. But we must
depend on the Holy Spirit to enlighten our reason. Faith is
not contrary to reason but is beyond reason - just like
multiplication is not against addition but is beyond addition.
 
Secondly: Acknowledge God in all your ways. That means to
obey every single thing that God reveals to you. Give the
Lord first place in every area of your life. Then the Lord
will lead you in His perfect will.
 
As I look back over the past years, I am amazed to see how
the Lord has led me - step by step. Many a time, I never knew 
what the next step would be. But the Lord has directed my paths. 
I pray that you will have the same joy as you look back on your life.
 
2. Second Promise  
 
Proverbs 4:12 - A literal paraphrase of it would read: 
“As you go, step by step the way will open up before you.” 
You don’t need to know even what lies two steps ahead of you.
Take the first step that you can see. You will then see the
next step. This is how God guides us. Doors may look to be
closed in front of us. But as we approach them, they will
open automatically. But they won’t open until you come near
them. That is how our God leads us on. So don’t be hesitant
or afraid if you see a door closed in front of you. Take the
step God shows you now. “I have put before you an open
door,” says the Lord, “which no-one can shut”(Rev.3:8)
 
3. Third Promise  
 
Proverbs 4:18 - “The path of the righteous is like the light
of dawn (when the sun rises) that shines brighter and
brighter until the full day (noon-day)” This is God’s
perfect will for everyone of His children – that they should
become more and more like Christ every day of their lives,
from the time that they are born again (when the sun rises),
until the day that Christ comes back (noon-day). Along that
path, we will get more and more revelation on God’s word,
more and more light on the corruption of our self-life, more
and more wisdom for practical situations that we face, etc.,
If you walk along this path of the righteous, you will never
backslide, just like the sun never goes back in the sky.
 
Why then is it so rare to find Christians who live like this? 
Because most of Christendom lives at a substandard level. 
We must not let our life sink to the level of the believers 
around us. Our eyes must be fixed on the Lord alone. 
We must seek to walk as He walked. Unfortunately,
many Christian leaders today are not good examples. Look at
God’s Word and look at Jesus. If you find a good example,
like Paul, you can follow him too. Paul said, “Follow me as
I follow Christ” (1 Cor.11:1).