If you spend much time in any big city you know the blessing it can be hearing that some voice every morning. You may not know what she look like unless you see her picture up on a billboard advertising the radio station she works for.

      When you hear someone like that every day, morning after morning you begin to listen on the radio for their trusting voice. She's on the radio giving us the latest, newest information on how good or bad the traffic is on the major roads. She will tell you the best road to travel on, when to travel, where there have recently been major accidents and which roads the traffic is so bad that it looks like a parking lot.

     Someone like Magen can help us pick the right road to be on! I want to talk to you about the INSIDE INFO ON THE ROAD AHEAD. The traffic lady is able to help us find the best way because she's got information we don't have. She's got the big picture . . . she knows where the problems are.

     You and I have someone like that for the choices in our lives that are much bigger than just today's traffic report. In our life, and most often in our daily walk, a wrong choice will cost you and I a lot more than just a few extra minutes in a traffic jam.

     God really wants you and I to pick the right road - His road, the road that lines up with His great plans for us on a daily basis. God already knows what's on ALL the roads out there . . . He can see which one is best. And He wants to let us know.

     Our word for today from the Word of God is Isaiah 48:17.

Isaiah 48:17

"Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teaches thee to profit, which leads thee by the way that thou should go."

     What a promise! Every day we must decide which way to go - in your love life, in raising a son or daughter, in your personal finances, in your business, in your ministry, in your relationships, in your classroom or your studies.

     And one of the great benefits of belonging to Jesus Christ is that we do not have to understand everything or figure it all out based only on the limited perspective or limited viewpoint we have! The One who can see it ALL is committed to teach us what is best for us - not just what is good for us . . . He's committed to direct us in the way we should go.

     You may very well have some "which way?" decisions you're facing right now. As you also well know, we need to "Claim the promise!" Pray that promise back to God from Isaiah 48:17. The Bible is full of promises like this! Psalm 32:8 says,

Psalm 32:8

"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way that thou shall go. I will guide thee with Mine eye."

In order to be able to hear God's leading, here's a few practical steps to take . . .

1. START EACH DAY WITH PRAYER.
     Don't start any day without really praying over it and praying through it. God's guidance comes in DAYS - so go over each day with Him early on.

     For Christians prayer is like breathing. You don't have to think to breathe because the atmosphere exerts pressure on your lungs and forces you to breathe. That's why it is more difficult to hold your breath than it is to breathe. Similarly, when you're born into the family of God, you enter into a spiritual atmosphere wherein God's presence and grace exert pressure, or influence, on your life. Prayer is the normal response to that pressure. As believers we have all entered the divine atmosphere to breathe the air of prayer. Only then can we survive in the darkness of the world.

     Unfortunately many believers hold their spiritual breaths for long periods, thinking brief moments with God are sufficient to allow them to survive. But such restricting of their spiritual intake is caused by sinful desires. The fact is, every believer must be continually in the presence of God, constantly breathing in His truths to be fully functional. So first of all, start each day with prayer to find God's leading. Second,

2. SEEK GOD'S WAY IN THE BIBLE.
     Open your Bible with a seeking heart, asking God to show you in these verses a way He wants you to be thinking today. Keep a journal of what He says.

3. PAY ATTENTION TO GOD'S VOICE.
     Pay most attention to what God keeps speaking to you about doing. When there is no other voice but God's influencing you, pay attention to what He says. Obey what He wants you to do.

4. ASK GOD FOR CONFIRMATION.
     Ask God for - and then look for - circumstances that confirm the direction you've been sensing in His Word and in His Presence.

5. BE WILLING TO DO WHATEVER HE WANTS.
     Make sure you have opened yourself up to ANYTHING God wants. God writes His leading on your blank piece of paper, not on a contract you've filled out for God to sign.

6. SEEK GODLY COUNSEL.
     The Bible say there is wisdom in the counsel of many. If you need that human touch...Pray with a friend, your pastor or someone you respect.

     Remember, the real issue here is getting closer to our Heavenly Father. He uses our "which way?" struggles to draw us into a deeper dependency on Him. Showing us the plan is the easy part - getting us to trust Him is the hard part.

     A person learns to trust and most often follow the direction of Megan the traffic lady on the daily radio broadcast as to what way to take. In the same way we should react to God's daily leading throughout our day. As you look ahead to your journey for today and this week, make sure you are tuned to the frequency, to the station where the guidance is . . . to the radio station of our Heavenly Father in heaven who sees it all, who knows it all and who has all the inside information on the road ahead.

by Charles Ross
LINKS TO . . . Other Bible Messages Genesis Esther Daniel Philippians James Complete Discipleship Topics