Directions for Life
Introduction
Pippa and I are often in a hurry. We are not good at planning our car journeys. We often set off in the wrong direction and frequently get lost (even with Google Maps!). I don’t know why it has taken me so long to learn the importance of getting good directions and following them.
Many of us are like this in life. We charge off in a hurry. We don’t realise the importance of getting good directions for life. If you follow God’s directions for life, you will enjoy his blessing and bring blessing to others.
Psalm 5:3–8
3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.
8 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness…
make your way straight before me.
Commentary
Start each day waiting for directions
When embarking on a journey the best time to get good directions is before you begin.
In this psalm, we have a wonderful example of how to begin each day: ‘Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly’ (vv.2–3). David is ‘waiting for directions’ (v.8, MSG).
There is something special about beginning your day by laying your requests before God. The whole day has a different dimension as you ‘wait expectantly’ (v.3).
Prayer
Lord, today I lay my requests before you and wait for directions. Lead me, O Lord. Spread your protection over me. Surround me with your favour as with a shield (vv.8,11,12).
Matthew 5:22–42
22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the oaths you have made.’
42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
Commentary
Follow Jesus’ directions for life
There are some general directions that apply to every car journey. These are the rules of the road. Jesus’ directions in the Sermon on the Mount are like a ‘highway code’ for a life of blessing.
Following Jesus’ directions involves a radical lifestyle. He challenges us to be ruthless in dealing with every wrong attitude, thought, word and action.
Our words should be words of blessing, not anger. Do not speak angry words against your brothers and sisters (vv.21–22). ‘The simple moral fact is that words kill’ (v.22, MSG). But, words can also give life. Choose today to speak life-giving words of wisdom, encouragement and blessing.
We are called to do everything within our power to bless those we have fallen out with (vv.23–26). If we remember a ‘grudge’ a friend has against us, we should go to the friend and try to ‘make things right’ (vv.23–24, MSG). If we encounter an ‘old enemy’ we should ‘make the first move; make things right’ with them (v.25, MSG).
We need to guard what we do with our eyes and our heart. If we allow them to become corrupted then, far from being a blessing to others, we will be rotten ourselves.
Take radical action. When teaching on adultery, Jesus says it is not simply about the physical act: ‘Don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices – they also corrupt’ (v.28, MSG).
Jesus speaks of the eye as the starting point of adultery. Take radical steps to avoid such a course (vv.29–30). As Job said, ‘I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl’ (Job 31:1).
Marriage is intended to be a place of blessing one another and a source of blessing for others. This means a life of radical faithfulness within marriage (Matthew 5:31–32). Jesus speaks against using divorce as ‘a cover for selfishness and whim’ (v.32a, MSG).
We are to live lives of radical integrity in which we say what we mean, and mean what we say: ‘Simply let your “Yes” be “Yes”, and your “No”, “No”; anything beyond this comes from the evil one’ (v.37).
Blessing others means blessing even those who do bad things to us (vv.38–42). ‘Don’t hit back at all… No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously’ (vv.39,42, MSG). To return evil for good is demonic. To return good for good is human. To return good for evil is the way of Jesus.
Prayer
Lord, help me this year to follow your directions for life and to spread blessing wherever I go.
Genesis 12:1–4,13:1–18
12 The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 ... all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you. ”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him.
13 Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. 2 Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.
5 Now Lot, who was moving about with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. 6 … their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. 7 And quarrelling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s. …
8 So Abram said to Lot, ‘Let’s not have any quarrelling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are close relatives. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.’
10 Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan towards Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out towards the east. The two men parted company:
14 The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. 15 All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring for ever. 16 I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. 17 Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.’
18 So Abram went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he pitched his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.
Commentary
Trust God to direct you one step at a time
What I love more than anything when I set out on a long car journey (even better than Google Maps), is to have someone in the car with me who knows the directions and tells me, one step at a time, where I should go. In the journey of life God offers to accompany you and direct you one step at a time into a life of blessing.
This is one of the key moments in the Bible, as God initiates his rescue plan for humanity. The previous chapters have been a tale of ever increasing sinfulness and separation from God. In these verses suddenly everything shifts as God reveals his solution – Abraham!
God promises Abraham: ‘I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’ (12:2–3).
God chooses one individual and blesses him, and then one nation and blesses them – but his plan is always that they will pass the blessing on (v.3b). This is key for our understanding of the Old Testament, as it explains why God chose Israel – so that through them the whole world might be blessed.
Ultimately this promise is fulfilled in Jesus. He is the fulfilment of all the promises and hopes of Israel and through him ‘all people’ can be blessed.
This is now God’s purpose for you. The apostle Paul writes, ‘Those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith’ (Galatians 3:7–9).
The church is blessed, like Abraham and Israel, not for its own sake but in order to bring blessing to the whole world. If you have been blessed by God, it is not for your own selfish indulgence or self-congratulation; it is in order that you can be a blessing to others.
God calls Abraham to leave his country, his people and his father’s household and go to the land God is going to show him (Genesis 12:1). Abraham did exactly as the Lord directed him (v.4, AMP). He trusted God to direct him one step at a time. He could not have seen the next steps at this time but he trusted God’s promises.
This has been my experience in life. God may give us a general picture of what he wants us to do – but as far as the details are concerned he leads us one step at a time. The life of faith involves following his directions one step at a time.
The journey is not always entirely smooth. Abraham was very much a flawed human being just like us. God blessed him with great wealth (13:1, MSG) and a ‘stunningly beautiful wife’ (12:14, MSG). Nevertheless, in an act of weakness and deception, he allows Pharaoh to take her as his wife (vv.10–20).
Then, after ‘quarrelling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and Lot’s’ (13:7), Abraham decides that there has to be a parting of the ways between himself and his nephew (vv.8–11). Actually, it was not Abraham and Lot who fell out – it was, as so often happens, their followers. The reality of friction in human relationships is very evident.
Lot chose the best land and left Abraham with what looked less good. But, again, God gives Abraham directions. He tells him: ‘look around from where you are’ (v.14).
God said, ‘I’ll make your descendants like dust – counting your descendants will be as impossible as counting the dust of the Earth. So – on your feet, get moving! Walk through the country, its length and breadth; I’m giving it all to you’ (vv.16–17, MSG).
When you are disappointed by someone or something, resist the urge to give in to feeling angry or bitter. Instead, ‘look around from where you are’ (v.14); fix your eyes on God and see things from his perspective, not the enemy’s. Trust him to help you in these difficult situations, rather than trusting in yourself. His plan is to bless you.
It is only because of the grace of God that Abraham is promised these amazing blessings. The intention was that he would be a blessing to the whole world. Likewise, for you. You are called to live under God’s blessing and bring blessing to those around you.
Prayer
Lord, help me this year to follow your directions, one step at a time, to live under your blessing, and bring as much blessing as I can to everyone around.
Pippa adds
We all need guidance every day in all the difficult decisions of life. Following a straight path saves us wandering off wasting time and energy. My prayer today is Psalm 5:8 where we read, ‘Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness… make straight your way before me’.
Thought for the Day
To return evil for good is demonic. To return good for good is human. To return good for evil is the way of Jesus.
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References
For a more detailed explanation and application of ‘The Sermon on the Mount’ (Matthew 5–7) see Nicky Gumbel’s book The Jesus Lifestyle.
The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel (commentary formerly known as Bible in One Year) ©Alpha International 2009. All Rights Reserved.
Compilation of daily Bible readings © Hodder & Stoughton Limited 1988. Published by Hodder & Stoughton Limited as the Bible in One Year.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.