God Promises to Guide

“I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” — Psalm 32:8 (KJV)

Meyer begins by saying how much guidance matters: “so much of our power and peace consists in knowing where God would have us be, and in being just there.”

He reminds us how God guided his people in the Bible. Abraham left home with no map, only God. Israel followed a cloud by day and fire by night through the desert for forty years. When they were where God wanted them, food appeared each morning. Meyer says: “The manna only falls where the cloudy pillar broods.”

And the Bible is full of promises of guidance. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go.” “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” “The LORD shall guide thee continually.”

Meyer points out that God must guide us in small things as well as big ones, because big events often turn on tiny moments. A pebble can change the flow of a stream.

But maybe you feel that God guides other people and not you. You feel slow or confused. You can’t seem to hear him clearly, and you are so afraid of getting it wrong that you can’t work out what’s right.

Meyer has a beautiful answer. Think of a parent with two children. One is quick and catches on to every hint. The other is slower and struggles to understand. Does the parent only explain things to the clever one? No. The parent takes the slower child on their knee and explains it patiently, and loves them just as much.

So he says: “Oh! weary, perplexed and stupid children, believe in the great love of God, and cast yourselves upon it, sure that He will come down to your ignorance, and suit Himself to your needs.”

God doesn’t only guide the spiritual experts. He comes down to where you are. He knows how to speak in a way you can understand.

One thing to do this week: write Psalm 32:8 on a card and carry it with you this week. Whenever you face a decision, big or small, read it and say: “Lord, you promised to guide me. I’m trusting you.”