Recognize the goodness that God has bestowed on us and acknowledge that He has our best interests in mind. As we walk with God, we come to realize how He uses even difficult situations in our lives to help us grow in our faith and learn to trust in Him. We come to understand why certain doors were opened to us and others were closed. When we can trace this pattern and see that God did all of this for our benefit, we can trust that He will do the same in every situation we face.
Guidance
John Maxwell
To reach your potential, you must know where you want to go and where you currently are. Without both of these pieces of information, you’re liable to get lost.
Elisabeth Elliot
Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying in the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person’s seemingly small act of obedience! Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, depend upon it, you will be shown what to do next.
Garris Elkins
God will fulfill His ultimate plan, even when we respond in unbelief. When the children of Israel received a word about a Promised Land, it was their disbelief that moved the finish line of fulfillment 40 years into the future. Unbelief caused the people to take a longer path toward the fulfillment of God’s promise. A generation of unbelief needed to die off so that a new generation of faith could rise. Be encouraged when you recognize your unbelief. Sight is the beginning of healing. If you discovered you have been riding the back of the elephant of disbelief, dismount and call it what it is. You will influence others who are watching your renewed stance of faith. They, in turn, will have the courage to join their faith with yours, and together you will see the glory of God.
Augustine
Trust the past to God’s mercy, the present to God’s love and the future to God’s providence.
Elisabeth Elliot
Even when we’ve prayerfully and carefully sought God’s guidance, “it does not follow that right guidance will be vindicated by a trouble-free course thereafter” (p. 239). Numerous examples in the Bible show people falling into trouble who were directly where God led them: the Israelites between Pharaoh and the Red Sea; the disciples in a boat in a storm, a boat that Jesus sent them off in; Paul in prison, Jesus Himself on the cross, just to name a few. An easy path doesn’t always mean we’re on the right road: a troubled path doesn’t necessarily mean we are on the wrong one.
K. P. Yohannan
The secret of following God’s will is wrapped up in rejecting the good for God’s best.
Dawna De Silva
I cannot tell you how many times I have been saved from deception just by stepping aside and asking the Lord to confirm His voice. We receive a lot of thoughts in our brain—some experts claim it is upwards of fifty thousand per day. If we take the time to step back and ask the Lord if a thought, feeling or impression is His, we will receive His guidance to clarify which way we should go. If you are confused, ask God to give you His gift of discernment. We should also read the Bible, as His Word is our ultimate source of truth. (1 John 4:2-3)
Francis Chan
It’s much less demanding to think about God’s will for your future than it is to ask him what he wants you to do in the next ten minutes.
Julia Loren
Faith comes to understand that when we take a long detour on our journey, God will ultimately intervene and redirect us . . . if we let Him. Faith also knows that doors to fulfilling our calling or destiny—doors of favor that we think should swing wide open—often slam shut. Yet if we wait, His purposes often become evident. If we act presumptuously and try to make our own way past the shut doors, disaster may curtail all our best intentions. Faith waits for God.