Leading from Behind

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.     Isaiah 30:21 ESV

I so often find myself praying for direction!  I want the Lord to show me the way, give me a roadmap for His plan, and I want to see ahead of time step-by-step instructions for the way that I should go.

But that's not usually how God works.

I know this.  I've written about it a number of times over the years.  

Scripture is full of wisdom regarding how we are to discern the ways of the Lord and walk in His ways.  It seems it should be so simple, and yet often it is just hard -- at least, it is for me.

I tend to have my own ideas about how I would like things to go.  I am prone to using my prayers to make suggestions to God on how I think He ought to do things.  I mean, I don't say it exactly like that, but that's really the heart of it.  Though I know it is not true, I sometimes live and act as if I know better than the God who created the universe and everything in it, including me.

Such was the case with the people to whom Isaiah's prophecies were directed.  Though they had clear instructions from the Lord, they chose to reject His plan and follow their own.  And they ended up defeated and taken captive.

But the Lord still had good plans for them.  And so, He waited.  (See Isaiah 30:18)

This passage in Isaiah describes the Lord's response when His people had been unfaithful.  Rather than trusting in God, they sought help from foreign kings.  Instead of believing the word of the Lord, they trusted in their own plans.  And God allowed them to experience some of the consequences of their poor decisions.  But He did not abandon them.

And that is so encouraging to me!

Too often, I want to choose my own path and then ask God to bless my way.  Meanwhile, He's been calling me to wait and to trust.

And so, I find myself seemingly alone and uncertain as I try to move forward.  In such times, I am tempted to believe that God has abandoned me.  I sometimes accuse Him of silence when I claim to want to hear His voice.  I want to know why He is not leading me...

Perhaps, in those times, it is simply that I am moving in the wrong direction.  

Listen.

We often speak of following the Lord.  This is an excellent idea!  Clearly, the best path forward would be to follow our Leader.

Still, there are times when we have strayed.  Sometimes, we may have genuinely misunderstood.  Or perhaps, the Lord is simply calling us to wait and to seek and to listen...

When we cannot see the way up ahead, this is the time to get quiet, tune in, and listen for God to speak.  He has not left us.  We do not walk alone.  Listen for His whisper in your ear.

If you've gotten ahead of God today and cannot seem to discern the way, rest assured that He is still there.  Listen carefully.  He will direct you, even from behind.  He's just waiting for your ear.

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.  For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.  Isaiah 30:18

...Just a thought...