Alpha Session 5 - How does God guide us?

How Does God guide us?

Guidance is typically more of a step-by-step process
• God has a specific plan (a good plan) for EACH of us. (Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 12:2).
• It is wise to involve God in ALL our decisions (Isaiah 30:1–2).
• Without God we are likely to get into a big mess

God guides us in many different ways….
1. Through the Bible
• In the Bible, there are general guidelines we should always follow. (2 Timothy 3:16).
• God also speaks to us through the Bible about specific situations.
• If we make it a habit to read the Bible regularly, then God will often bring a particular verse to light just at the right time to help guide us in a decision. (Psalm 119:105, 130–133).


2.Through the Holy Spirit (The still small voice in our hearts)
• The Holy Spirit helps us recognize God’s voice.
• God speaks to us as we pray or when reading the Bible. (Acts 13:1–3)
• Sometimes He speaks through our feelings, desires and thoughts. (Philippians 2:13).
o We must test our feelings:
- Is it loving towards others?
- Will it bring God’s peace?
- We should also ask for confirmation
• Sometimes in more unusual ways like prophesies, dreams, visions, angels, audible voice (Acts 11:27, Matthew 1:20, Acts 16:10, Genesis 18, 1 Samuel 3:4–14).



3. Through Common Sense
• God wants us to use our brains to think about the consequences of our choices. (Psalm 32:8–9).

4. Through advice from others
• The wiser you are the more aware you will be that you need help to make the most of life (Proverbs 12:15; 15:22; 20:18)

5. Through Circumstances
• Our eyes should be open to opportunities and closed doors.
• But sometimes we need to keep going in spite of difficulties. (Proverbs 16:9).

Our job is to do what God has placed before us- be in that school, relationship or service- as best we can; using our brains and our energy to the full.
• If God has other plans or ideas then we can be confident that he will step in to put us back on course.

Conclusion:
• Don’t rush to decisions- sometimes we have to wait for God to lead us to the treasure
• Remember we all make mistakes but that God forgives us and gives us a second chance (Joel 2:25).