Lenten Devotional Week 5: Guidance

Scripture

And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 1 Corinthians 12:28

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11

Reflection

How does such a relationship come about? As with all other things in the kingdom of God, it is arranged by prayer. Bringing and resting our case with God, we wait patiently for his way to be manifest. If he should invite us to speak to someone or make certain arrangements, we gladly obey. Such relationships can be formal as in some of the monastic orders, but they do not need to be. If we have the humility to believe that we can learn from our brothers and sisters and the understanding that some have gone further into the divine Center than others, then we can see the necessity of spiritual direction. As Virgil Vogt of Reba Place Fellowship says, “If you cannot listen to your brother, you cannot listen to the Holy Spirit.” Richard Foster A Celebration of Discipline

Questions

• How often do you take advice from others, and do you ever expect God to use them to give you guidance?
• How do you make yourself ready to listen for God’s guidance?
• Do you ever listen for God when  others come to you in need of help and how do you respond to their needs?