GOD LEADS

Pray, a lot; Listen, (wait); God leads: We follow; God blesses. 

When we pray for God to lead us as we serve him we Listen and that means we wait for him to Lead. 

“But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation My God will hear me."  Micah 7:7 

The promise is that the God of my salvation will hear me.  Although this is not our nature it is much easier because waiting for his Devine leading we know there is a promise in the waiting process.  And by faith, we live knowing he hears us while we are listening, yes waiting, and he will answer. He will lead us.

Knowing he hears our prayer must have encouraged Ernest W. Blandy to write the gospel song Where He Leads Me that I sang as a lad and as a young man with a growing family.  Blandy, a Salvation Army officer, wrote this song after choosing between a comfortable post at an established church, and an alternate assignment to the New York City waterfront and slum called Hell's Kitchen. He chose the latter.

Where He Leads Me
“I can hear my Savior calling,
Take thy cross and follow, follow me.

​Refrain:
Where He leads me I will follow,
I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

I’ll go with Him through the waters,
I’ll go with Him through the garden,
I’ll go with Him to dark Calv’ry,
I’ll go with Him to the judgement,
He will give me grace and glory,
And go with me, with me all the way.”

Perhaps one of the most quoted passages of the Bible is the 23rd Psalm. “The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid . . . . ”  Psalms 23:1-6
To follow God’s leading takes faith. Faith that following the paths He creates is worthy of our paying attention and following. 

God Leads is the midpoint of this five part series.  It is the midpoint yet the first of the final three segments of the series.  This example of God leading will conclude with God Blesses after we Follow Him.  
My wife Sharon and I were committed to speak at a Reach Beyond mission donor dinner in South Bend, Indiana and she needed to return to Colorado for a week of meetings because she served as a member of the Candidate Orientation Committee of the mission.  I was committed to represent our ministry at a missions conference at a supporting church in South Florida and simply did not want to go.  The previous year we had been involved in helping move the Reach Beyond headquarters from South Florida to Colorado Springs, Colorado and I thought I needed to get back with her to continue setting up operations.  We prayed and felt the Lord wanted me to go to Florida.
What did we do?  Sharon went to Colorado, I went to Florida.  Sound interesting?  Tune in next month for the next step; We Follow.
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CONCLUSION
It is healthy to follow God and not do things in our own way.  A note from one of my favorite Bible characters; “Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD and turn away this day from following the LORD by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle!”  Joshua 22:29