For His Name's Sake He Guides Us

Readings:
Psalm 23
Galatians 6:1-10

Focus:
Psalm 23:3b: "For his name's sake he guides me in the right paths."

Sometimes we might wonder if God will lead us. Perhaps things are particularly in a shambles in our lives. Maybe things just aren't going right. Or maybe we've been messing up pretty badly and we're not sure whether or not God can straighten us out. We might wonder whether or not God cares enough about us to do that.

But not only does God care enough about us to do that--he also does it for his own sake. And since he is perfect, there is no reason that he would want to let himself down. So it is guaranteed that he will want to guide us! We can depend on him to help us for his sake, even if we aren't sure of ourselves.

For his name's sake, he will guide us in the right paths.

Guidance

Readings:
I Chronicles 20
Acts 12:1-17

Focus:
Acts 12:10b:"They came out and had walked the length of one street when suddenly the angel left him."

Peter has been in jail because Herod, the king, has begun persecuting members of the new church. The populace doesn't object, so the authorities feel bold enough to make this move. But God helps Peter escape through miraculous means.

Yet Peter's angel guide does not stay with him all the time after the escape. In fact, the angel only goes a little way, and then abruptly disappears, leaving Peter on his own to figure out what to do next.

God didn't suddenly give up on Peter. Rather, God gave him the help he needed, and then left him to deal with the situation with the gifts that he was already prepared with: his intelligence, his knowledge, and his experience, among other things.

This is the way that God may help us, too. Perhaps he will nudge us towards some sort of solution, but he won't do it all for us. He will leave a lot of the "working it out" to us. It makes life an interesting mystery to see how God helps us and what he expects us to do!