If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
    even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

Psalm 139:9-10

 

It’s quite amazing how God can lead us. To many it must sound like a mysterious process. They wonder how it could happen for them.

But it can, and having God lead us is not as mysterious as you might think. Mostly you need to be alert to what is within you. You will need a quiet place and a quietness within.

Being led by God is something you allow to happen, letting go of any controls you might be tempted to use. Shut out distractions, the busyness of the world, the busyness of life. Be still before him.

I’m writing this from the perspective of a writer who feels led by God through her writing  – by “talking” to God through her journaling. If you’ve been thinking of journaling, the following might offer something you’d like to try. I’ve been writing this way for twelve years and I believe it has helped keep my life with God on track.

The very early mornings have been my best time to hear from God and learn where he wants to take me. I don’t hear him audibly, of course, but thoughts, ideas, and motivations do drift into my mind – seemingly from nowhere. I don’t make them happen. I don’t create them. They just come. Sometimes what enters my mind is uncommonly creative and stimulating. And so, I’m pretty sure – usually very sure – that the only place they could have come from was God himself. Our Creator God.

With the house quiet, the time unstructured, and my journal and pen on my lap, I’m ready to start talking with God. Picking up my pen and opening the journal I write, “Dear God.” My letters are like a conversation I might have with a dear friend. I don’t think it’s like a conventional prayer. I begin by talking about whatever enters my mind. The way I feel, disappointments, hopes, what I plan to do that day. I ask for his presence for whatever might come.

As we talk, ideas come. Thoughts about things I might have wondered about. Thoughts about my needs, about others’ needs. All the while I keep writing, allowing my pen to freely form the words, not being too fussy about neatness, grammar, or other little details. With very little effort, my thoughts flow freely from my mind onto the page. “I let go and let God.”

When I look back at what I wrote, I often say to myself, “Where did that come from?” I didn’t remember writing those words or thinking them. They had to have come from God himself. Where else?

This is how many of my writings get started. And this is how God led me to write this devotional. I wrote a couple of pages, letting the ideas flow, allowing the imagination God gave me to take part.

As I journal in God’s presence I often receive ideas for new projects I’d like to undertake. Fun projects or work that I believe God would like me to do. By being open to God as I write, I find him leading me in ways I’d never expected.

Of course, the next step is to obey. But that’s a topic to explore another time.

What I’ve outlined here isn’t the only way to find God’s leading, of course. It’s just one idea to try, especially if you enjoy writing. The important thing is to make yourself available to God and give him a chance to work in your life.

marja