Guidance – Look, See, Pray

Living in a seaside town means the pace slows down when the holiday makers go home at the end of summer.

Traffic levels drop off a bit, and the seafront changes character. The kid’s playgrounds shuts down, the crazy golf closes, and the pier goes quiet. I remember a time when the pier was longer, and speedboats offered high-speed rides- such a thrill. The more sedate could take a donkey ride, or hire a deckchair.

It’s as if the town takes a breath before next year’s visitors.

That’s a good thing for the town: and it is a good thing for people to do the same. Early morning at low tide, a huge expanse of wet sand is exposed, with scattered soft rocky boulders ruling over little briny lakes. The sand is patterned with ripples by the receding water. A few crabs, some seaweed, worm casts, not much else to take the eye.

Early low sun-rays turn the sand into a glaring bright mirror. Locals take the opportunity to walk the sands, exercise the dog, breathe deeply of the salt-tanged air. Precious time to breathe; solitary if you like, or friendly passing chats with the dogs (and sometimes the owners!).

How wonderful to set mind and spirit at rest.

Praying whilst walking can be helpful practice. Sharing your thoughts with God, acknowledging His Presence with praise, and even working through doubts, fears, or troubles.

Meditating on a few verse from the Bible (or one of the great themes of faith or theology) can be a real blessing. Take a breath- and inhale the gracious Love of God with every step. Imagine walking alongside Jesus beside the sea and share a conversation…

Here is one passage to meditate on to seek deeper Wisdom:

“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity.”
Proverbs 2:6-7

Take a breath. It will bless you- and bring you closer to Jesus.

It wasn’t that we were “lost”, exactly… But reading and understanding the signs was tricky. To make it more urgent, an Alpine thunderstorm was heading our way: and we were up an Alp looking for the way back to Scheffau. Scheffau wasn’t on the signpost as a destination.

A little bit of guidance would be nice! By the way- we made it down OK.

“We spend too long in our life trying to figure out where God wants us to be … instead of just allowing God to do something with our life where we are.” ^{(Author unknown)}

Christians agonise over finding God’s guidance, and we worry so much that we don’t actually DO anything until we are certain of God’s Will. At the risk of upsetting some fellow believers, I’m going to say that when we live like that we may be getting it wrong!

Does God have a perfect plan for our lives? Yes- but not necessarily in the way we think. Our life purpose is wrapped up in something much bigger: God’s purpose. Consider the Book of Esther in the Old Testament. Esther, the Queen, faces a dilemma. The Israelites are threatened with death. But for Esther to help, she has to take an enormous risk. Esther 4:14 is interesting. “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

We usually quote the last part of the verse: note it says “Who knows?” It’s a question. They weren’t sure. They knew God wanted to save the people- His larger purpose. They knew Esther had been told of the plot. But did they know for sure what Esther was supposed to do? Apparently not!

There will be times when you’ve gathered all the information, you’ve prayed as well as you know how, you’ve sought godly advice; what you are doing is not sinful … but there is something inside of you that’s still not sure. WE have to trust that if we are following God and seeking His purpose, HE will work out the rest! Don’t wait to be 100% convinced: just be 100% available.