Last week we talked, in general terms, about God’s guidance. A Christian’s duty, and hopefully his or her heart, is to be in the center of God’s will. We aspire to be there because God’s word teaches us to seek His will. If we reside there we know that we are in the best place we can be. And, it is here, that we will be the most fulfilled while living on this earth.I promised that I would give you an easy-to-remember technique to remember the four main ways that God leads us. Following God’s guidance is our path to the center of His will. The key to the technique is to remember the acronym P.A.W.S. I will briefly share what each letter means. When we understand how these all work together, we can grasp more firmly the ways in which God guides us.

The P stands for Providence. In simple terms divine providence is God’s activity or intervention in our lives for the purpose of producing specific results. God orchestrates events for His glory. Acts 27,28 states: For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose PREDESTINED (emphasis mine) to occur. The crucifixion of Jesus was a predestined event. It had to happen. God is glorified and we are eternally blessed.

In the Old Testament God states: Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure (Isaiah 46:10).

The A stands for Answered Prayer. Many times we pray about a specific decision. We may pray and ask God questions such as should I take this job or should I marry this person. When we get a clear answer, we know God’s will in the matter. God uses prayer and His answers to lead us into the center of His will.

The W stands for (the) Word. The Word of God is the primary source of God’s guidance and discerning His will. Some things we don’t have to pray about because Scripture is clear. For example, the Bible says we should not steal, murder, or commit adultery. It teaches we should honor our parents and be honest in our dealings. We don’t need to pray about these types of things. Joshua 1:8 says: This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may ]be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.

The S stands for the Spirit. We know God’s will when we get a witness in our spirits. The Holy Spirit impresses our spirit to do something or not do something. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God (Romans 8:14). However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come (John 16:13) Allow me to close by sharing a great concept on guidance that I learned from Bob Mumford’s great book, Another Look at Guidance. He uses the analogy of a ship coming into a harbor to dock. The ship has to get at a certain approach angle in order for all the harbor lights to line up in a straight row. To approach at the wrong angle could lead to running aground or worse.

In Mumford’s book he talks about three spiritual harbor lights. You must have all three of these confirmed, or lined up, in order to know that God is leading in a particular decision. The first harbor light is the Word. Does the Bible allow or forbid the prospective action? The second harbor light is opportunity. Do you have the opportunity to do it? And the final harbor light is the witness of the Spirit.

Recently an elder in my church had the opportunity to go to Mexico for a few weeks to work with some missionaries. He wanted to go. He had the opportunity. The Word certainly approves of missionary work. But, he had a check in his spirit. He did not have the freedom in his spirit to go. So, he didn’t. He only had two of the harbor lights.

Next time you have a big decision to make or a small one remember P.A.W.S. and the three harbor lights.