Celebration of Discipline Week 11: Guidance
This is week eleven of our 12-week series exploring Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster.
Join us as we journey through the twelve spiritual disciplines found in the book choosing to go deeper with Jesus and grow in our spiritual lives. It’s not too late to join us – so grab a copy and dive in!
Here’s last week’s blog where Liz shared her thoughts on worship. You can also watch her video update too.
Discipline Eleven: Guidance
Have you ever been at church or a conference where someone has been speaking, and even years later it has stuck with you so much that you can recount the talk back word for word?
This happened to me when I was 16. I was finishing high school and my GCSEs, and was trying to decide what I should do next. Should I move to a different school for Sixth Form? It would mean leaving behind the friends I’d had for the past five years. Plus which subjects did I even want to study anyway?
In hindsight, these decisions seem fairly trivial, but to me they were the first real decisions I was making by myself, and, in its on way, the choice I made at that stage has gone on to shape the direction of my life.
‘Following God’s will is more about every step along our decision-making journeys being for his glory and in worship of him, regardless of the final outcome’
Anyway, there I was, sitting in the balcony at my church along with the rest of my youth group, with this big decision running through my head. The title of the talk that evening was ‘Living in the centre of God’s will.’ It was all about busting the myth that every decision we make in life has to be accompanied by clanging cymbals and a bright shining arrow in the sky to show us God’s way to go.
Sure, it might happen that way sometimes. But more often than not, living in the ‘centre of God’s will’ looks like stopping, praying, listening, seeking wise counsel, and, in the absence of a direct message from God, using the lesser-talked-of spiritual gift of common sense to make a decision. Following God’s will is more about every step along our decision-making journeys being for his glory and in worship of him, regardless of the final outcome.
For Richard Foster, ‘Guidance is the most radical of the Disciplines because it goes to the heart of the matter of walking with God. Guidance means the glorious life of hearing God’s voice and obeying his word.’
Guidance isn’t really about specific instructions about what we should next – the kind of thing I was hoping for when I was 16. It goes deeper. It’s about conforming ourselves to the image of God.
Foster takes care to focus on guidance as a corporate discipline rather than an individual one. He points to our great focus on private guidance as a symptom of our individualistic culture. Instead, guidance in the context of community is biblical – like the Israelites who were led by God in a pillar of cloud or a pillar of fire, not as individuals but together.
‘In the power of the Spirit, Jesus has come to guide his people himself, which is an experience as definite and immediate as the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.’
We can know this direction individually and profoundly, but we can also know this in a corporate way.
How do we go about discerning or experiencing this guidance?
Surely this is an age-old question! In certain situations, there may be exceptional means of guidance, which could include angels, visions, dreams, signs and so much more. In some moments there may also be a need to lay a fleece (like Gideon) and wait and pray for such signs, and be obedient when we see them.
However, such exceptional means of guidance don’t always occur, and Foster gives us four ways to help us seek guidance. These largely involve looking to the Bible and to the example laid out for us from other believers.
‘Following God’s will is more about every step along our decision-making journeys being for his glory and in worship of him, regardless of the final outcome’
For Richard Foster, ‘Guidance is the most radical of the Disciplines because it goes to the heart of the matter of walking with God. Guidance means the glorious life of hearing God’s voice and obeying his word.’
Guidance isn’t really about specific instructions about what we should next – the kind of thing I was hoping for when I was 16. It goes deeper. It’s about conforming ourselves to the image of God.
Foster takes care to focus on guidance as a corporate discipline rather than an individual one. He points to our great focus on private guidance as a symptom of our individualistic culture. Instead, guidance in the context of community is biblical – like the Israelites who were led by God in a pillar of cloud or a pillar of fire, not as individuals but together.
‘In the power of the Spirit, Jesus has come to guide his people himself, which is an experience as definite and immediate as the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.’
We can know this direction individually and profoundly, but we can also know this in a corporate way.
‘In the power of the Spirit, Jesus has come to guide his people himself’
How do we go about discerning or experiencing this guidance?
Surely this is an age-old question! In certain situations, there may be exceptional means of guidance, which could include angels, visions, dreams, signs and so much more. In some moments there may also be a need to lay a fleece (like Gideon) and wait and pray for such signs, and be obedient when we see them.
However, such exceptional means of guidance don’t always occur, and Foster gives us four ways to help us seek guidance. These largely involve looking to the Bible and to the example laid out for us from other believers.
1. Seek wisdom from others
Francis of Assisi turned to two of his most trusted friends, Sister Clare and Brother Silvester, for the Lord’s guidance of how he should best specifically devote his life to Christ.
These friends prayed with other friends of theirs for signs or promptings from the Lord and reported back to Francis.
Francis was doing more than just seeking advice of the friends, the wise counsellors in this case, but he was finding a way to ‘open the windows of heaven to reveal the mind of Christ.’
2. Small meetings for clarity
This is where a meeting is called specifically to seek the Spirit’s lead for an individual’s question.
The groups that gather will know the individual well, have spiritual maturity and are unafraid to be honest and candid with the individual if necessary.
Often the biggest thing that comes from these gathering isn’t always a clear answer, but for the individual to know there is a worshipping, supporting community around them.
3. Spiritual direction
‘The role of the spiritual director is to lead us to our real Director, the Lord.’
These directors may have advanced further into the inner depths of relationship with the Father, but is still very real about their own personal growth and struggles.
Spiritual direction takes up the concrete daily experiences of our lives and gives them sacramental significance.
Spiritual Direction can look like a relationship with an individual as expressed above, but can also look like preaching and small groups.
4. Scriptural authority
Above everything, it is essential to remember that Scripture is God-breathed and is alive and moving today.
We must take time to study, read, meditate and wrestle with Scripture as God’s most direct route of guidance for us today.
With any guidance, it is essential to stay biblical.
When it comes to navigating corporate guidance, it is important to remember that we are human beings, where at times, despite our best intentions and efforts, our own prejudices and fears keep us from a Spirit-led unity. Sometimes we see things differently, and in these incidences kindness is essential, and we must pray for God’s clarity and blessing over whatever outcome.
This week, why not work try working through the below Bible studies below every day and consider how you can engage with your wider church family to seek guidance for yourself, or to engage in being there for others.
Richard Foster recommends these daily scripture readings as explore guidance this week:
Monday: The pole star of faith – Hebrews 11
Tuesday: The guidance of Divine Providence – Genesis 24:–21
Wednesday: The guidance of justice and obedience – Isaiah 1:17; 18–20
Thursday: Led into all truth – Proverbs 3:5–6; John 14:6; John 16:13; Acts 10:1–35
Friday: Closed doors, open doors – Acts 16:6-10; 2 Corinthians 2:12
Saturday: Listening or resisting? – Acts 21:8-14
Sunday: The family likeness – Romans 8:14; 28-30
Video Update
Here’s Becky’s video update at the end of the week.
Follow @onelifeleaders on Instagram to continue the journey.
We’ll be sharing blog posts, encouraging quotes and video reflections on each chapter of Celebration of Discipline.