There are sometimes where I get so turned around that I have no clue where I am at. Maps don’t help, and I can’t tell which way is which. I usually need someone to point me in the right direction. It has happened trying to follow Christ as well. No matter what I did, I couldn’t figure out where he was leading me. Sensing God’s leading can be difficult but it is not impossible.
Numbers 9:15-17
On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day and the appearance of fire by night. And whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent, after that the people of Israel set out, and in the place where the cloud settled down, there the people of Israel camped.
Don’t you wish that God’s leading was as clear as it was while Israel was in the desert? They knew it was time to move when the cloud lifted, and they knew it was time to camp when the cloud set down. Life would be so much easier if we got up every morning and God just showed us what to do. Even without the cloud, we can still sense God’s leading.
Lead by the Word
We have to remember that there were over a million Israelites out in the desert and God had to be able to communicate with them all at once. So how does God communicate with us? He does it through a few channels. First and foremost he communicates with us through his Word. Words written thousands of years ago can speak to us today. As we engage with the scripture, we will send God’s leading.
Lead by the Spirit
God also leads us through his Holy Spirit. When we are spending time in prayer, and our heart is softened to the still voice of the Spirit, we can sense when he is speaking to us. He will impress something on our heart, and it is our responsibility to follow it. It may be as simple as praying for someone or as bold as speaking a word of wisdom to someone you don’t know. It is always important to use discernment and caution because we can easily mistake our feelings as God’s leading.
Lead thru Obedience
The final way that we can sense God’s leading is through obedience. Much of our Christian walk is doing our daily tasks set before us. Most people fall into sin because they are bored with their daily life. They are looking for something exciting and new. This can be a snare which takes us away from where God is taking us. The Israelites only moved when the cloud over the tabernacle moved. We can sense God’s leading when we consistently obey him.