God's Instructions

A couple of months ago I had the pleasure of spending 10 days in the Caribbean with our Heavenly Father and a dear friend. My friend had encouraged me to bring lots of books as I would have plenty of alone time to read and as I began contemplating which books to bring, the Lord instantly laid it on my heart that there was only one book I needed to take, and it was the Bible. So, I followed His instructions and only took my study Bible.

Proverbs 19:20-21 HCSB

"Listen to counsel and receive instruction so that you may be wise later in life. Many plans are in a man's heart, but the Lord's decree will prevail."

When I began contemplating what this trip was going to about, I felt that God was going to teach me to be more disciplined so I began a search to find all the Scriptures that pertained to discipline and yet God kept redirecting me and showing me Scriptures on "instructions" and I wasn't sure why. There are two verses that He laid on my heart to memorize and they are Proverbs 4:13 and Psalm 19:7 and so every day I read those Scriptures and memorized them.

Then I began searching for the true meaning of the word "instruction" in order to have a better understanding of it and this is what I found.

• In the Bible instruction refers to doctrine, teaching, law, Torah (which is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible).

• Instruction is also a warning or a direction to follow God's will.

• Instruction is meant to help believers avoid error and prepare them to handle the challenges of the world.

WOW, the last sentence spoke volumes to me because that is exactly where I was when I arrived in Antigua. I was dealing with personal & professional challenges and God brought me to Antigua to prepare me and equip me to handle them. I didn't realize how depleted I was physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually until I was removed from my circumstances because honestly, I could have slept the entire time I was there.

Proverbs 4:13

"Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life."

I was hoping to purchase a journal prior to leaving for my trip because I wanted to capture everything God laid on my heart while I was away, but because I was busy helping plan a memorial service for a dear friend/widow that I cared for I ran out of time. So, I decided to purchase the journal when I arrived and thankfully my friend and I found a store that had multiple journals.

In my mind I was hoping the cover would have either Scripture written on it or a cross on the front and I was excited because I found a journal that had a cross on it, but then I found a second journal that said, "Jesus is the way" and for some reason God kept drawing me to "Jesus is the way". I stood there for a few minutes arguing in my head with the Lord because I wanted the journal with the cross on it because crosses are significant to me and yet I sensed Him saying I want you to have "Jesus is the way". So again, I followed His instructions and purchased the one He laid on my heart (reluctantly I might add).

It wasn't until a couple days later that this journal was laying on an angle next to me when all of the sudden the cross appeared in the word "the" and I couldn't help but laugh and be overjoyed, I never saw the cross until that moment. Then I began to wonder how I could have missed it and I asked God to forgive me for being stubborn and for selfishly wanting what I wanted and not seeing the gift He was trying to give me.

How many times has God spoken to you or given you a precious gift that you did not hear or recognize immediately?

Friends, God wants to give us the desires of our hearts and yet we can be so determined to have things "our way" that we fail to recognize the true gift He is giving us. Trust that what God is giving you IS His BEST even when you don't see it initially.

Psalm 19:7

"The instruction of the Lord is perfect, renewing one's life; the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making the inexperienced wise."

To this day, God is still using the word "instruction" to guide me through my daily walk with Him. Though I still stumble and fall short of doing His will consistently He is faithful in redirecting my steps, how blessed am I that He hasn't given up on me?

Friends, will you allow God to instruct, guide, and redirect your steps? I hope so, because it will lead you to witness His amazing grace and a life that is blessed abundantly!

Written by: Jill Theriault

Crossroads Coaching - @crossroadscoachingongodstime