Don't do life without your tour guide!
When you’re wandering around unfamiliar territory, it helps to have a guide who has walked those paths before you.
The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. (Isaiah 58:11)
Have you ever met a Beefeater?
No, that’s not someone on the carnivore diet, although that might be an apt way to describe them. Beefeaters are also called Yeoman Warders, and they are the ceremonial guards of the Tower of London.
Many moons ago when I was visiting England, I got a chance to tour the Tower of London (10/10 recommend, I spent 4+ hours there easily), and the tour guide assigned to our group was a man who asked us to call him Barney.
Barney the Beefeater. The Tower of London tour may have been one of my favorite attractions we saw in England, and Barney had a lot to do with that. He was personable, charming, funny, and knowledgeable. He had so many stories to tell about the history of the Tower of London, and he was such a gifted storyteller that it was a joy to listen to him.
It didn’t matter what part of the giant location we were at, Barney could explain its history to us. He knew every inch of that place, so he knew exactly what to tell us to help us navigate the grounds.
When you’re wandering around unfamiliar territory, it helps to have a guide who has walked those paths before you.
Throughout Scripture, God has always presented Himself as our guide. He led the children of Israel through the wilderness as a pillar of fire and cloud. He is the Good Shepherd who tends God’s flocks. He is the lamp that lights our feet in the darkness.
The world keeps getting darker and darker. In the midst of so much turmoil and change and uncertainty and fear, it can be a challenge to figure out which way to go. History and culture does repeat itself, but most of us are too young to have lived through the last cycle. So all of this feels new and unfamiliar. All of these paths are roads that none of us have walked before, and there’s nothing that will cause our anxiety to spike more than being lost.
So hear me, friend: If you know Jesus, you are never lost. You are never without direction. You are never without your Guide.
When you feel lost and stranded and uncertain of which way to go, get quiet, get still, open your ears, and ask for help. Then, listen. Actually listen. Search the Scriptures. Pray. God hasn’t gone anywhere. He isn’t ignoring you. He isn’t hiding from you.
Be honest with Him. Be honest with yourself. If you’ve wandered away from Him, that was your choice. Not His. And He’s waiting for you to come back for help. He’s out in the road watching for the first sign of you so He can run to you.
Yes, it’s possible that He may want you to stay put. He may not want you to move. He may want you to wait. That’s not a popular answer, but oftentimes it’s what He asks us to do until His time lines up with our situation.
He might even ask you to go backward. If you got ahead of where He wanted you, He might direct you to go back to where you began and start over.
No matter who you are or where you are or where you’ve been, God will always show you what the next right step is. It may not be the step you want. It may make you uncomfortable. It may challenge you and push you and force you to lean on Him to get it done (which is the point, by the way). But you will know for sure that’s the way He wants you to go.
And as you obey Him in faith, He will make sure you have everything you need along the journey. He is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides what He requires. He will lead you the way you need to go. You just have to be willing to follow.
Questions for Reflection
What is preventing you from following God’s leading in your life today?
Why do you think some people fear that God will abandon them?
How can God promise to make us like a “well-watered garden”?
Weekly Memory Verse
