Christian Counselor Online: God's Leading

Where He Leads... will you follow?

Most of us have sang the hymn "Where He leads me" by John S. Norris. The first verse repeats "I can hear my Savior calling", while the last line is "Take thy cross and follow, follow Me."

The refrain repeats 3 times "Where He leads me, I will follow", with the last line being "I'll go with Him, with Him all the way."

As a child of God we are expected to mean what we say, and thus to mean what we sing. The Scripture says: "Let your yea be yea and your nay, nay." One should not think lightly of this. Consider for a moment the implication of this song on your life; I will follow where He leads me. This demands total dedication to Jesus Christ, the Lord and Master.

Matthew 4:19,20 And He saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed Him.

Matthew 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me.

There is a price tag in following Christ. It costs us our will, our old sinful nature and the things of this world.

Following the Lord does not mean that all will go smooth, that our problems will vanish, or that we are spared from sorrow and pain. We still live in this old world where there is war, disaster, hardship, death and where satan roams around.

Believers in Christ will still have rough roads to walk, mountains to climb, valleys to cross and battles to conquer, similar to that which unbelievers face. The difference is that we have a living God, His word, His Holy Spirit and the power to overcome through Christ within us.
It is our part to learn to leave our "nets" behind and follow Him, as the Scripture above mentions.

Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

You may think that you're following Christ and that you've got faith to handle anything until you find yourself in hardship. Something went wrong and you arrived in a difficult situation.

A situation that you never thought you would find yourself in or God would allow you to go through. You may wonder where God's promises are or if He pays attention to your turmoil.

God's word says that His promises are Yeah and Amen. If we missed out on His promises we have to search our own heart. Our Lord does not fail, but we do.

Although perfect through Christ, we are still imperfect in this life and may not have been alert enough, listened to others, became sidetracked by the world or had our spiritual defense system down. Recognize it, confess your sins, errors and failures, and repent.

Be not discouraged for we are still learning to totally commit our lives to God. Be assured that He will lead you further on.

Psalm 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Please, do not worry because our Father uses any opportunity and situation to draw you unto Himself and to shape you into His likeness. He will not leave you in the dark, as long as you keep your will surrendered. You may be surprised to know that our Lord allows you to go through hardship to teach you obedience and endurance. If you think you've got faith, only the test will show this to be true. Are you really following Him? Have you left your "nets" behind?

Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll Follow, you say

I will follow where You lead me
Please, Lord do not make it too hard
I'll follow You through the mountains
but don't let the valleys be my part

Let me follow You in my own realm
in the things that are known to me
Please, don't lead me through the jungle
as this may cause me to flee

I'm scared where it will take me
if I follow You all the way
I wish to stay on familiar ground
so my faith won't show disarray

My dear child, the Lord replies
Trust Me as I lead you to higher ground
If I would approve of your requests
you will never be heaven bound

Through tests and trials you will learn
and your faith in Me will grow
I wouldn't allow you to wander around
wasting your time on this earth below

The purpose of following Me all the way
will greatly benefit your soul
As you will dare to step ahead
holding My hand, you'll reach the goal

You'll be enriched as you're trusting God
while I lead you on the path unknown
Looking upwards you will see only Me
as you willingly follow the way shown

Then your faith will steadily grow
for in the tests you did succeed
You will be able to move mountains
as faith reaches the size of a mustard seed

So, dear child quietly follow Me
do not fear for that which may come
I have promised never to leave you
and to prepare you a place at the Father's home
* * * * * * *

Hebrew 5:8 Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered.

To be shaped into the image of Christ takes more than words. To be molded after His likeness involves tests, trials and fire. It is through experience that we learn. A difficult and painful journey will make a more lasting impression on our lives. It will bring us to obedience unto His will.

We may wish that God removes all the difficulties and hardships from our lives, but this is not what God's word promises. How else would we learn to overcome if there is no battle? How else could we learn to love our enemies if there is nobody who hates us? How do you think we will beat temptations?

John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

Romans 5:3b,4 Knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope.

Beloved in Christ, we must become more willing to be shaped by the Father's hand, to surrender our will, to pay attention to His voice, to diligently study His word and to seek His face with all of our heart. Allow Him to mold you into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ, at any cost.

May I remind you that there is a purpose in all that God is doing in our lives. Although we may not fully understand it now, it will become very clear once we have been lifted from this earth and are in Glory with our Maker.

Psalm 66:10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

May we willingly learn His ways, I pray, so we'll be a help to them in need and an example to them that seek God in truth. One day Jesus will present us to the Father and we must have passed the tests in this present life.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

May HIS Blessings Rest Upon You, As You Continue With HIM.

Dr. Trudy Veerman

Thursday, February 18, 2016

God's Leading

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