“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
What does it mean to be guided by God? What does it mean for God to guide your understanding (thoughts), heart (actions), and paths (life)? God reveals the answers to these questions in His Word so that His children, Christians, may know the truth and follow the Lord Jesus Christ to make our paths straight throughout our lives.
These verses, Proverbs 3:5-6, are in many ways what it means to be a Christian. The Christian is one whose heart has been transformed by the grace, love, and Spirit of God to be a new creation in Christ. And when a person is a new creation, he can then be guided by God’s Word through the power of the Holy Spirit.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
This “new creation” happens when a person is born again by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. It is a supernatural event in a person’s life by the power of the Holy Spirit and it happens in the twinkling of an eye. It is the gracious and loving act of God and not something we do for ourselves. In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul is writing to Christians to give them insight in how they were saved into eternal life.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
In other words, the sinner, who is spiritually dead in sin and has no hope of eternal life (let’s be clear, this is every human being who is living and has ever lived on this earth) is graciously regenerated by God through the gift of faith and salvation in Jesus Christ. When this happens in a person’s life, he or she is a “new creation” in Christ Jesus.
Then, the Christian, who is a “new creation” in Christ, has a hunger and thirst for God’s Word and righteousness (Matthew 5:6) and is guided by God through His Holy Word by the power of the Holy Spirit. We grow and are guided by God when He speaks to us through His Word and when we speak to Him through prayer. It is communication between God and His children that God created and has ordained.
The crux of the matter, it is only when we are redeemed by the blood and righteousness of Christ and repent from our sin, that we truly understand how much of a sinner we really are and how amazing God’s grace truly is. It is only through this humble offering of ourselves to God and trusting Him to lead our lives that we live a God-guided life.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
May God bless you with His grace, love, and truth!