He Directs Our Steps
Hi Everyone,
Today I am writing about a vision the Lord gave me earlier today while in prayer.
The Visions
Airplane Streak
In this vision I saw a streak in the sky made by a jet’s exhaust. The water vapor that comes from the engine’s exhaust condenses in the cold air and forms a linear cloud. It is called a contrail, short for “condensation trail.” The line was straight except that in the far distance, it began to bend slightly or drop off, to follow the arc of the earth, similar to a rainbow.
There was a scripture that came to mind:
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:6
The Lord wants us to trust him in all things. He wants us to confer with him, to ask for his guidance in our decisions. We are to seek him, and to understand what his will is for us. The Lord should hold a central place in our hearts and lives.
In the vision, the path that the plane takes is straight as we see and understand straight. But in reality, gravity plays a role in bending the path to follow the shape of the earth. A plane flies at a determined height above the earth’s surface, so it continues on this planned flight pattern. But because of gravity, and the shape of the earth the true path is circular, with the center of the earth being the center of the path. God is like the center of our lives. He determines our path, and like gravity, he bends our plans to suit his purposes.
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. Proverbs 16:9
The Lord is sovereign; we are instruments in his hands. The word declares that our days were known and planned by God before we were born.
Your eyes saw my unformed body; all my days were written in Your book and ordained for me before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:16
We belong to God.
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; Psalm 37:23
Somehow we think that we are in charge, and we make our plans as if we were captains of our own ship. But we should consider these next two verses that tell us who is really in charge:
A man’s steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way? Proverbs 20:24
I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps. Jeremiah 10:23
Doesn’t this go contrary to our human reasoning? To our freewill? Aren’t we the ones who chose whether we will serve God or ourselves? Aren’t we in control of our own destiny? We live in the world and take on the world’s viewpoints and values, whether we know it or not. The world values autonomy, individualism. The world values self reliance, and self promotion. We blame ourselves for our own failures and take credit for our own successes. But we are God’s creation and we must see the true nature of our being. All people are born spiritually dead in sin and deserve death. But God in his mercy chooses to be merciful to some, but perhaps not all, as this next passage reveals.
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Certainly not! For He says to Moses: “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
So then, it does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.
One of you will say to me, “Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?” But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?” Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use? Romans 9:14-21
God chooses to use us as he wills, to serve his purpose. Judas, for example, was chosen to be the one who would betray him to the chief priest and Pharisees. For he served God’s purpose of fulfilling scripture. Zechariah gave the prophecy and then we see its fulfillment in the gospel of Matthew by the actions of Judas and the Pharisees.
And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter"—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the LORD. Zechariah 11:13
Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him, thirty pieces of silver. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. Matthew 26:14-16
God orchestrates our steps. When we have a decision to make, we should seek his counsel, so that our decision aligns with his purpose. Even so, God’s sovereign will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is best however to serve the Lord willingly by yielding our hearts and bodies to him, and asking him for direction.
Here are three amazing scriptures about the sovereign will of God.
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. John 15:16
This statement made by Jesus, demonstrates that He is the one who initiates the relationship with his followers. It reflects the idea of divine selection, where believers are chosen first by Jesus. It is not human freewill in operation as it may appear to be, but rather it is God’s sovereign choice.
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:44
So the Father draws us to Jesus, and no one comes to the Father except through the Son.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
What we are speaking of is God’s sovereign selection and predestination. It is God who establishes our way and calls us to be his own. This concept of predestination is clearly expressed in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:4-14
A debate over salvation and how it is attained has been discussed for centuries. Many churches do not want to teach about predestination and sovereign choice because they have a personal view to which they hold. Arminianism represents this view that makes faith alone in Christ insufficient for salvation. Those who hold to this view believe that something else is needed, either works, or some special sense of commitment beyond simple faith. From the very beginning, there were Judaizers who believed that Gentile converts had to first become circumcised and follow the law in addition to Christ’s teachings. But this negated the entire purpose for which Jesus came, which was to fulfill the law and the prophets and to end the Old Covenant . At his coming in clouds in AD 70, he came in judgment against Jerusalem, to destroy the temple and put an end to the daily sacrifice, and to establish his kingdom by inaugurating the New Covenant in his blood.
There are certain scriptures that tend to lead one to think that mere belief in Jesus as God is not enough. The book of James and a statement made by Jesus demonstrate this.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless? Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone. James 2:14-24
Jesus himself said:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
I believe that God places within us the ability to trust him and to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh. When he does this, our spirits become alive and we are able to declare that Jesus is Lord and God. God gives us the desire to love and serve him, to know him and to read his word and to do his will. Without the Lord awakening our spirits, we cannot come to him. But when the Lord quickens our spirits we see everything from a new perspective. The Holy Spirit residing in us causes us to appreciate the Lord’s ways and understand his heart, and so we grow in knowledge and in love for God.
However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you. Everything that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said that the Spirit will take from what is Mine and disclose it to you. John 16:13-15
The Holy Spirit may prompt us to act mercifully towards others in need. We may have formerly avoided such encounters because of the fear of getting involved. But now being made alive in the Spirit, we take on new thoughts, attitudes and values from the promptings of the Holy Spirit and we give ourselves to loving and caring for others. This is God’s sovereign will expressed through us, because he chose us, and gave us his Spirit. Our works or good deeds follow us, not out of necessity for procuring our salvation, but simply as a result of the Spirit living through us. Our deeds confirm that the Spirit of God is within us, that our faith is genuine and that our salvation is real.
I believe that those who claim to be Christian, but do not reflect the character of Christ, nor have experienced any significant change in lifestyle or attitude showing love and concern for their fellow man, are probably not really born again, but are still spiritually dead. Perhaps they attend church and claim to be Christian so as to meet some religious requirement, or sense of duty. Perhaps they attend church to be accepted by others. Church for them, may be a social outlet, or a means of connecting with potential clients. Most people have a desire to be accepted and belong to a group. Therefore we must not assume that everyone who comes to church is actually born again and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus told a parable about the ten virgins, five of whom were wise and five of whom were foolish.
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Matthew 25:1-12
The Lord’s response “I don’t know you,” shows that these virgins never knew him. The Holy Spirit was not within them, they did not belong to the Lord and were therefore denied entrance. The passage that I had quoted earlier ended in a similar manner.
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23
In both instances the Lord said that he never knew them. In the Biblical sense “to know” means to have an intimate relationship with someone as a man “knows” his wife by having sexual relations. If we are the bride of Christ, then we must “know” him. To know God is to trust him. To know God is to worship him. To know God is to give ourselves and all that we are to him.
Salvation comes to us as a free gift, given to us by a loving Father to his children. In one passage, he likens us to sheep, calling himself the Good Shepherd. Notice how he describes them as knowing his voice.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John 10:1-5
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15
And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:16-18
If we are the Lord’s sheep, we will know his voice, and will not harken to another. When we know the Lord, we will trust him. We will have genuine faith that believes his word, hears his voice and is moved to love and serve him. We will find our contentment in him. Just as a child is comforted by his mother’s voice and embrace, we find our comfort in knowing that he will never leave us, nor forsake us. We take comfort in knowing that our sins are forgiven, that we have been reconciled to the Father, and that we will spend all eternity with the Lord. He is our peace, He is all we need, for everything we need is found in him.
If this post and theses precious words of scripture have touched your heart and you would like to pray to receive the Lord, declaring that he is God in the flesh, then pray with me.
Dear Jesus,
I believe with all my heart that you are God, that you came in the flesh, and died on the cross to pay for my sins and the sins of others. I acknowledge that by your death, I have new life in you, that I am born of God, born in the Spirit and made alive in you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit for He will lead me into all truth and guide me. I pray that you set me free from the bondages of sin and death so that I can lead a new life, trusting in you for all things. I pray that you write my name in the book of life so that when I pass from this life to the next, I will spend all eternity with you. Thank you Jesus, for you are my God, my Lord and my Savior. I give myself to you this day and forevermore. Amen.
Thank you for reading. Please share this post with others, for we want everyone to hear the good news of the gospel. Be blessed!
