Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye."
Would it be fair to say that many of us expect the Lord to take us by the
collar and turn us in the way He wants us to go? Or, do we expect Him to
literally take us by the hand and turn us in His way as our parents did when we
were young? I think most of us, if not all of us, at some point or other
have thought of God's direction in that manner. Remember yesterday, we
thought of Elijah and his desire to hear God's voice and direction for his
life. He looked to the earthquake to try to hear God's earth shattering voice
to tell him what to do. The voice of the Lord wasn't in the earthquake.
He looked to the fire that would destroy anything in his way that would prevent
him from following the Lord. The Lord's voice wasn't in the fire. But when he
became still before God, there came that small peaceful voice into his heart
that told him what he was to do.
In today's passage, God says I will instruct you. I will teach you in the way
you are to go. But the way I will teach you is by the directing of my
eyes. How many times in the Word of God do we hear these words,
"Seek my face." We saw one not long ago in the Psalms. "When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face,
LORD, will I seek." (Psalm 27:8) I think the problem for most of us
is in trying to determine how we seek the face of God. I'm not sure I
have that answer, but it seems to me that if I am walking in spiritual
darkness, then I am not walking according to the face, or the directing eye of
God. If I have sought Him and if I am truly wanting to do His will in my
life, then He has promised to guide us. When he guides us, we can know we
are walking in the paths of righteousness "for His name's sake." (See
Psalm 23:3)
The problem that lies within us is that we have trouble making a distinction
between doing our own will and doing the will of God. You see, our own
will can be a very loud boisterous voice in our lives. Our own voice (wanting
to do what we want to do, instead of what God directs us to do) can cause
confusion in our lives. It is at that time that we truly need to "be
still" before God and ask Him to guide us in the right path for His glory
and to our peace. We sometimes have too much nervous energy to let ourselves be
still.
Remember this, when He says He will guide us with His eye: "He found
him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he
instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye." (Deuteronomy 32:10)
The Lord came to us. He drew us unto Himself. He has instructed us and
will continue to do so. Here is what you and I must remember: You are "the
apple of his eye." That is a very special place in the heart of God.
He loves you unconditionally. He gave His only begotten Son to die for your
sins. You can be assured that He will not lead you in the wrong path; rather,
He will gently guide you in the way that is right for you. Trust Him.