Difficulties Concerning Guidance

Believers are encouraged to trust in God's promised guidance, despite struggles with doubts about His will. God speaks through Scripture, the Holy Spirit's impressions, personal judgment, and providential circumstances. These must align to confirm His will. The chapter warns against self-deception and stresses testing impressions with Scripture and common sense. Ultimately, believers are urged to trust God’s wisdom and act promptly on His guidance while avoiding doubt.

You have now begun, dear reader, the life of faith. You have given yourself to the Lord, to be His wholly. He has taken you and begun to mold you into a vessel of His honor. Your deepest desire is to be very flexible in His hands. You want to follow Him wherever He may lead you.

You trust Him to work in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. But you find a great difficulty here. You do not know the voice of the Good Shepherd. So, you are in doubt about His will for you.

God is calling you to certain paths. Your friends express strong disapproval. And, these friends may be older than you in the Christian life. They seem much more advanced, too. You can hardly bear to differ from or distress them. You also feel very unsure about yielding to any duty they might disapprove of.

Yet, you cannot shake these impressions. You plunge into doubt and unease. There is a way out of all these difficulties, to the fully surrendered soul. I would repeat, fully surrendered. Any will to resist makes it hard to know God's mind on that point. So, first, ensure you truly want to obey the Lord in all respects. If this is the case, your soul only needs to know God's will to consent to it.

Then, you cannot doubt His desire to make it known and to guide you.

There are many very clear promises in reference to this. Take, for instance, John 10:3- 4 “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. ” John 14:26: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." Also, James 1:56: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ” With such passages as these, and many more like them, we must believe that Divine guidance is promised to us, and our faith must confidently look for and expect it.

This is essential; for in James 1:6- 7, we are told, “ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord .

First, settle this point. Divine guidance has been promised. You will surely have it if you ask for it.

Let no doubt turn you from this.

Next, remember that our God has all knowledge and wisdom. Therefore, He may guide you to paths where great blessings await you. But, to the short-sighted human eyes around you, those paths may seem to lead to confusion and loss.

You must accept that God's thoughts and ways differ from man’s . Only He, who knows the end from the beginning, can judge the results of any action. You must realize that His love for you may lead you to go against your dearest friends' wishes.

You must learn from Luke 14 and similar passages, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” ( Luke 14:26-33.)

To be a disciple of your Lord, you may need to forsake all you have. You may have to turn your back on your family, or even your own life. If this is not clearly recognized, the soul may suffer. Often, a child's path of obedience will displease those he loves most. If he cannot trust the Lord through this, he will be lost.

Of course, this is in harmony with our duties of honor and love to one another in our various life relationships. The closer we are to Christ, the more we will show His meekness and gentleness. We will also be tender to our natural guardians and counselors. The Master's guidance will always show itself by the Master's Spirit. If, in obeying Him, we act against our friends' wishes, our love and patience will prove our motive. But, this point settled, we now ask how God's guidance will come to us. How shall we know His voice?

There are four special ways God speaks: 1. the voice of Scripture, 2. the inward impressions of the Holy Spirit, 3. our higher judgment, and 4. providential circumstances. If these four align, it is safe to say that God speaks. I lay it down as a principle, which none can dispute. His voice will always be in harmony with itself, no matter how many ways He may speak.

The voices may be many, the message can be but one. If God tells me in one voice to do or to leave undone anything, He cannot possibly tell me the opposite in another voice. If there is a contradiction in the voices, the speaker cannot be the same.

My rule for distinguishing the voice of God is to test it against this harmony. If I have an impression, I must check if it aligns with Scripture. I must also see if my higher judgment approves it, and, as we Quakers say, if "way opens" to carry it out. If either test fails, it is not safe to proceed. I must wait in quiet trust until the Lord shows me the point of harmony. He will, if it is His voice that has spoken. For we must not overlook the fact that there are other voices that speak to the soul. There is the loud and clamoring voice of self that is always seeking to be heard. And there are the voices of evil, deceiving spirits. They lie in wait to entrap every traveler who enters these higher regions of the spiritual life.

In the same epistle which tells us that we are seated in “ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus , ” (Eph. 2:6) , we are also told that we shall have to fight there with spiritual enemies. “ For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12). These spiritual enemies, whoever they are, must communicate with us through our spiritual faculties. Their voices, therefore, will be, like God's, an inward impression on our spirits.

So, just as the Holy Spirit may tell us, by impressions, the will of God, so will these spiritual enemies.

They will, by impressions, tell us their will, though not giving their name. It is plain, therefore, that we need a test. We must try these inner impressions. It is to know whose voice is speaking. And that test will always be the harmony to which I have referred. In a misguided attempt to honor the Divine Spirit, some earnest Christians have ignored and even violated the Bible. They have disregarded clear signs from Providence and outraged their own better judgment. God, who sees their sincere hearts, can and does forgive. But, the consequences in this life are often very sad.

We must first test any voice claiming to be divine. It must align morally with God's mind and will, as revealed in the Gospel of Christ. Whatever is contrary to this, cannot be Divine, because God cannot contradict Himself. We cannot expect a direct revelation until we seek and obey God's will, as revealed in the Bible. A great many fatal mistakes are made in this matter of guidance, by the overlooking of this simple rule. If our Father has given us clear directions, He won't reveal anything more. No man needs or could expect a direct revelation to tell him not to steal. God has already, in the Scriptures, plainly declared His will about it. It seems so obvious that I would not mention it. But, I have met Christians who overlooked it and became fanatical.

For the Scriptures are far more explicit even about details than most people think. And there are not many important affairs in life for which a clear direction may not be found in God’s book.

Take the matter of dress, and we have 1 Pet. 3:3- 4 “ Do not let your adorning be external — the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear — but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious .” and 1 Tim. 2:9 - 10 “ likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness —with good works.”

Take the matter of conversation, and we have Eph. 4:29 “ Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear . ” , and 5:4 “ Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving .” Take the matter of avenging injuries and standing up for your rights, and we have (Romans.12:19- 21) “ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will hear burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good ,” and (Matthew. 5:38 - 48) “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

“ For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps .”(1Peter.

2:19-21) Take the matter of forgiving one another, and we have (Ephesians.4:32) “ Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Mark 11:25- 26 “And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses .” Take the matter of conformity to the world, and we have (Romans 12:20) “ Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ” and (1 John 2:15- 17) “ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

“ You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?

Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”(James 4:4) Take the matter of anxieties of all kinds, and we have (Matthew 6:25- 34) “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Isn't life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’

or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore , do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

“ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”( Philippians 4:6-7) I only give these as examples to show how very full and practical the Bible guidance is. If you are confused, first, check if the Bible addresses your question. Ask God to reveal His will to you through the Scriptures. And whatever shall seem to you to be plainly taught there, that you must obey. Reading and meditating on this record of God's mind and will enlightens us. The inspiring Spirit will do so. Our obedience will then be, as if, a present, living word. It will be as if our Lord spoke it to us today from Heaven. The Bible is an ancient message from God, sent to us long ago. It is also a present message, sent to us now each time we read it.

"My words are spirit and life. You must obey them. It's a command, personal and present." But we must remember, the Bible is a book of principles. It is not a group of unrelated sayings . Isolated texts may be used to sanction things. These are opposed by Scripture's principles.

I recently heard of a Christian woman at a Western meeting. The text, "For we walk by faith, and not by sight," brought it to mind. She felt it was a command to be literally obeyed. So, she blindfolded herself and insisted on walking up and down the aisle to illustrate the walk of faith. She soon stumbled and fell against the stove, burning herself. Then, she wondered at the mysterious dispensation.

Applying Scripture and her common sense would have saved her from the delusion.

The second test, therefore, is our own higher judgment, or common sense. It is as true now as in Solomon's time. A "man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels." His exhortation still binds us: "Get wisdom, the principal thing. “Wi th all you're getting, get understanding." The Scriptures say it is vital for God's children to use all their abilities on their journey through this world. They are to use their outward faculties for their outward walk, and their inward faculties for their inward walk. They might as well expect to be "kept" from stubbing their toes if they walk blindfolded. It's the same as expecting to be "kept" from spiritual stumbling if they ignore their judgment and common sense.

I asked a "sound mind" Christian how she told false spirits from the Holy Spirit. She replied, "I rap them over the head and see if they have any common sense." Some may say, "But we should not depend on our human understanding in divine things." I answer that we should not depend on our unenlightened understanding. We should rely on our judgment and common sense, which the Spirit of God has enlightened. That is, God will speak to us through the faculties He has Himself given us, and not independently of them. We must use our eyes when we walk, no matter how faithful we are.

Similarly, we must use our minds in our inner lives.

The third and last test is that of providential circumstances. If a “leading” is of God, a way will always open for it. Our Lord assures us of this in John 10:4. It says, “When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ” Notice here the expressions “goes before,” and “ follows .” He goes before to open a way, and we are to follow in the way thus opened. A Christian should not force his way and trample opposition. That is never a sign of a Divine leading. If the Lord “goes before” us, He will open all doors for us, and we shall not need ourselves to hammer them down.

The fourth point is this: We must test our impressions by the other three voices. We must also test those voices by our inward impressions. If we feel a "stop in our minds" about anything, we must wait until it is removed before acting. A Christian, who had quickly advanced in the Divine life, gave me this secret: "I always mind the checks." We must not ignore our inner voice, nor ride roughshod over it, any more than we must the other three voices of which I have spoken.

These four voices, then, will always be found to agree in any truly Divine leading. The voice of our impressions, the voice of Scripture, the voice of our own sanctified judgment. The voice of providential circumstances. If these four do not agree at first, we must wait until they do.

A divine sense of “oughtness,” derived from the harmony of all God’s various voices, is the only safe foundation for any action. I have guarded the points of danger. So, please let me out. I long for the joy of this direct communication of God's will to us. It seems to me to be the grandest of privileges. In the first place, that God should love me enough to care about the details of my life is perfectly wonderful.

And that He would tell me all about it. And, to know how to live and walk to perfectly please Him, seems almost too good to be true.

We never care about the little details of people’s lives unless we love them. We don't care what most people do or how they spend their time. But when we love someone, we start to care. God's care for us proves His love. It's a great blessing that He speaks to us about everything in our lives. This includes our duties, pleasures, friendships, and all we do, think, or say.

You must know this in your own experience, dear reader. Only then will you find the joy and privilege of a life hid with Christ in God. It is one of its most precious gifts. God promises to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.

This means He will take control of our will and work it for us. His suggestions will come to us as desires, not commands. They will originate in our will; we shall feel as though we wanted to do so and so, not as though we must. This makes it a service of perfect liberty. For it is always easy to do what we desire, no matter how difficult the circumstances. Every mother knows she could get perfect obedience from her child. She just needs to control his will, making him want to do what she wants.

And this is what our Father does for His children in the new dispensation.

He writes His laws on our hearts and minds. We love them. Our affections and judgment, not our fears, draw us to obey. The Holy Spirit usually guides by impressing a desire to do or avoid certain things.

In prayer, the soul feels a sudden suggestion about a duty. “I would like to do this or the other,” it thinks, “I wish I could.” Or the suggestion may come as a question, “I wonder whether I had not better do so and so?” Or it may be only at first in the way of a conviction that such is the right and best thing to be done. The matter should be committed to the Lord. We must instantly choose to obey Him. If the suggestion agrees with the Scriptures, a holy judgment, and the circumstances, we should obey it.

Immediate obedience is the safest and easiest course. When the Spirit speaks, it is easy to obey. But if the soul hesitates and reasons, it becomes harder to obey.

The first convictions are usually right in a fully surrendered heart. God is faithful and will make His voice heard above all others. Such convictions, therefore, should never be met by reasoning. Prayer and trust are the only safe attitudes of the soul. But even these should be brief.

We must act before the time passes and we miss the blessing.

If the suggestion is unclear and doubt arises, we should wait for further insight. This is especially true if our friends disagree. The Scripture rule is, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” which means plainly that we must never act in doubt. A clear conviction of right is the only safe guide. But we must wait in faith. We must fully surrender, saying, "Yes," to our Lord's will, whatever it may be.

Our troubles stem from a lack of will. Next, many doubt any real Divine guidance. God's children are very skeptical here. They read the promises and feel the need. But, they cannot believe that someone will guide them.

It's as if God wants us to obey His voice, but didn't know how to make us hear and understand Him. It is, thus, very possible for God to speak, but for the soul not to hear, because it does not believe He is speaking. No earthly parent or master could guide his children or servants if they did not believe him or accept his voice as his true will. God, who spoke to the fathers in many ways, still speaks. He wants to see if any souls will obey His will.

Every moment of our lives our Father is seeking to reveal Himself to us. “ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”(John 4:26) I that speak in your heart, in your circumstances, in your losses, in your gains, in your sorrows, and in your joys, am He. "I speak everywhere and in everything." So, we must have perfect faith that the Lord's voice is speaking to us. It will teach and lead us. He will give us wisdom for our guidance. After asking for guidance, we must follow our strongest sense of what we should do. A few rules can help us with this.

I. We must believe that God will guide us.

II. We must surrender our own will to His guidance.

III. We must hearken for the Divine voice.

IV. We must wait for the divine harmony.

When we are certain of God’s guidance, we must follow it without hesitation. He is our t rue home. The path may be difficult and narrow, but nothing else can satisfy a heart that longs for Him. How little of that path you have walked, my soul! Take courage, and let the thought of God draw you further. The perfect way may be hard for the flesh, but it is not hard for love. If you were desperate for God, how quickly you would move toward Him.

Do not give your duties to God reluctantly — let your hands be open and free. Fix your eyes on Jesus and consider how freely He gave His love to you. True perfection requires only a heart that remains at peace throughout the day, listening for the Spirit’s voice moment by moment. Keep your conscience sensitive — do not ignore His quiet nudges. And go wherever His grace leads you.