God’s direction or His ability to guide us into His ways is the subject of today’s podcast as we move further in 2 Thessalonians chapter three. Now there are places in the Word of God where we have God’s direction, that is, places where He wants us to go. Then there are other passages where there is firm encouragement to ask for directions. Asking for direction is not always the easiest thing for someone. Men are famous for their ability to not ask for direction. Some say the source for this is genetic. That’s the reason it takes 500,000,000 male sperm to fertilize one female egg. None would bother to stop and ask directions.¹ I laughed when I read that. It’s vital to ask for direction and since you know God is a prayer answering God, you know what the outcome must be. Spiritual life is not a shotgun affair. You understand how shot in a shot God works? Hitting the target doesn’t require high accuracy. Just pull the trigger and you are bound to hit something. God’s direction is way more precise. In the animated classic Alice in Wonderland, Alice wanders through a frustrating world of rabbits, singing flowers, and one curious-talking cat. Her visit with the cat begins as she continues down a mysterious dark trail and stops at a large tree. Signs adorn the tree in every direction: “Up,” “Down,” “Yonder,” “Back,” “This Way,” and “That Way.” Alice is confused. “Which way do I go?” Just then, Alice hears a melodious voice drifting down from the trees. She looks around and observes two ghostly eyes and a wide toothy grin floating amongst the branches of a magnificent tree. The grinning teeth inquire of Alice, “Lose something?” “N-n-no,” Alice stammers in reply. Suddenly, a pink striped cat emerges from the branches. “Oh, you’re a cat!, Alice says.” “A Cheshire cat,” he responds.“I just want to ask which way I ought to go,” asks Alice. “Well, that depends on where you want to get to,” says the cat. “Well, it really doesn’t matter,” answers Alice. “Then it really doesn’t matter which way you go,” says the enigmatic cat, just before vanishing into the woods again.” Now that’s the story, but ask yourself, what’s wrong with this advice? Well, what’s wrong with it is the reply of the Cheshire cat: ‘Direction depends on where you want to go.’² Direction, God’s direction does not depend on where you want to go. What it depends on is where He wants you to go. God will give you clear direction for your everyday life. That fact should make you happy and that’s why our focus is Why God’s Love and Direction Are a Match Made in Heaven all on this week’s Light on Life.

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Asking for prayer and praying for others is all the Jesus’ way. Click To Tweet

Read the Notes

You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

Asking for prayer and praying for others is all the Jesus’ way. Be bold to ask and look for His direction in your life.

Join the Conversation

Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

Question: Share a testimony about how the Lord guided you in the affairs of your life. Share your story in the comments section below.

Episode Resources:

If you would like to know more about growing in faith, see the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

1. Why Possessing Patience Is A Powerful Step to A Faith Filled Life [Podcast]
2. Why Praying in Faith Means to Believe You Receive [Encore Podcast]
3. How You Can Demonstrate Powerful Faith in God [Podcast]
4. Why Taking the Forgiveness Test Helps Your Faith in God [Podcast]
5. Faith and Prayer: Important Lessons to Know [Podcast]
6. Why It’s Important to Flow in Faith’s Domain [Podcast]
7. Scriptures to Feed Your Faith and Combat Fear [Podcast]

We are currently teaching in the book of Second Thessalonians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

1. #S11-002:Why You Need God’s Protection in a World Gone Nuts [Podcast]
2. #S11-001: Why Growing in Faith Brings Amazing Results [Podcast]
3. #S10-052: Why Powerful Prayer to Advance the Gospel Is Right [Podcast]
4. #S10-51: Reasons Why People Fail to Receive From God [Podcast]
5. #S10-50: Why You Shouldn’t Be Quickly Shaken by Prophetic Happenings [Podcast]
6. #S10-049: Why Jesus Proven Second Coming Produces Ironclad Hope
7. #S10-048: Why God’s Amazing Dynamic Deliverance Is Coming Your Way [Podcast]
8. #S10-047: What Does a Spiritually Healthy Jesus Follower Look Like to God? [Podcast]
9. #S10-046: Why Repetition Is a Vital Need for Godly Spiritual Growth [Podcast]

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 47 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 42 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

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If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic, you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

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Prayer

Let’s pray.

Father God, thank you for your guidance — it’s very real — it’s very specific. In an uncertain world, it’s tremendous that you have provided a path for us to walk. You are so good and so merciful. Thank you for it in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Podcast Notes

God’s Direction: Opening Remarks

2 Thessalonians 3:1–5 (ESV) — 1 Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4 And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

• Paul starts out [in chapter three] asking for the prayers of the Thessalonians in verse one.

Finally, brothers pray for us…

• He ends this section by praying for the Thessalonians in verse five.

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

• Asking for prayer and praying for others is all the Jesus’ way.
• Let’s look closer at the prayer Paul prayed. The importance of the word ‘direct’ here cannot be overstated — may the Lord guide your hearts.
• Paul is praying that God would direct the Thessalonians into two areas: the love of God and the steadfastness of Jesus.
• So, we need to look at the word ‘direct’ and make sure we understand what that word means and, with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
• The Greek word ‘direct’ means to so influence others as to cause them to follow a recommended course of action.
• It means to guide, or to lead.³
• So, Paul is praying for influence, heaven’s influence.
• We all need the touch and influence of heaven.
• It is a must.
• Influence is the capacity to affect the character, development, or behavior of someone or something.
• So, if you are praying for direction, you are asking the Lord to affect the decisions you are making or maybe even thinking about making.
• Now this is not the entire story here with Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians.
• Paul is specifically asking the Lord to influence or affect two specific areas, the love of God and the stedfastness of Jesus.
• We will talk about these two areas later on but, for now, we’re looking at the general topic of asking God for direction.

God’s Direction: General

• Go with me to First Chronicles.

1 Chronicles 29:10 (ESV) — 10 Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly…

• If you read all the way back to verse one in this chapter, you find that David and the people of Israel got involved with gathering a huge offering to build a house for the Lord.
• David instigated this offering because his son Solomon was inexperienced.
• The maturity gap for such a monumental task was too great to bridge.
• After David praises and blesses the Lord, he continues praying with the following words.

1 Chronicles 29:16–18 (ESV) — 16 O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.

• Just a side note here.
• David is giving back to the Lord what the Lord already provided for him in life.
• Let’s go back and read this.

1 Chronicles 29:2–5 (ESV) — 2 So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble. 3 Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God: 4 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house, 5 and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?”

• Now, if you drop to verse 18, you will hear the same prayer out of David’s mouth that Paul prayed for the Thessalonians.

18 O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.

• David prayed for heaven’s influence on the people of God in Israel.
• Paul prayed for heaven’s influence on the people of God in Thessalonica.
• It’s the same thing in both the Old and the New Testament.
• Praying for the Lord to influence is right to do.

God’s Direction: What the Psalmist Declares

• Now, let’s jump over into the Psalms, and listen to the Psalmists as they talk about God influencing via His direction.

Psalm 73:24 (ESV) — 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

• God is in the guidance business.
• And His business to totally solvent — He’s never had a layoff.
• And with that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.

Let’s be honest: guidance is a problem. How do I know which job to take? Where to live? What to study? Who to marry? And besides these bigger questions, there are the more ‘routine’ issues of everyday life. For these, we need God’s guidance. The guidance of God becomes clearer as we get to know the God of guidance better. The more we learn about him, the more we learn about his ways, and the more we know what is right to do. Knowing what to do only assumes enormous proportions if we are uncertain about God himself. He is infinitely more than a celestial careers adviser, there to help when we ring up; he is our Father who is constantly ‘there’ for us and watches over us. We do not have to persuade him to guide; he is there guiding always.⁴

• This illustration came from the Handbook of Bible Promises.
• The point that it encourages is that by understanding God Himself, we can better find out His direction or influence as we pray about these matters.
• Now, the word ‘guide,’ in Psalm 73, is also one we want to know.
• We looked at the Greek word ‘direct’ which means to guide when we did the Definition of the Day.
• Here is its counterpart in the Hebrew language in Psalm 73.
• The Hebrew word ‘guide’ means to go in the direction of.
• It means to turn the eyes toward.⁵
• I like that! — what about you?
• Knowing that the Hebrew word means to turn the eyes toward, let’s reread Paul’s prayer.

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

• So we can read this as ‘May the Lord turn your eyes toward the love of God.’
• May the Lord guide you in the direction of the steadfastness of Jesus.
• Okay, now we have some good groundwork laid.

God’s Direction: Instruction

• We know where guidance comes from.
• Now, what do we do?

Psalm 121:1–2 (ESV) — 1 I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

• We lift our eyes higher than our minds and go past our heads up to the Lord in heaven.
• God’s direction and help come from on high — we ask for it and with patience expect it.
• He will not let you down!

Psalm 32:8 (ESV)— 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

• How does God’d direction come?
• It comes as instruction.
• He will lead you by teaching you.
• Does it comfort you to know that the Most High God is looking so closely at you?
• God of heaven has you under surveillance so He can bless you and do you good.
• He is looking for the right time to give you counsel.

Psalm 16:7 (ESV)— 7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.

• The scripture says here that sometimes the best time is night time!
• Why?
• Because at night your mind is quiet.
• That’s why you can awake from sleep and have direction.
• Have you ever awoke with a song in your heart?
• A song you may not have heard in a long while?
• Pay attention to that — there may be direction there.
• Now, there may not be — there may be encouragement or just blessing.
• The truth is God can influence you day or night.
• I remember when Sharon suffered the aneurysm over 20 years ago.
• That was an intense life-threatening time yet, even in all of that, the Lord gave direction.
• A verse of scripture rose in me out of Psalm 34 as I was driving to the hospital.

Psalm 34:19 (ESV) — 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

• How I love that verse!
• I knew and received courage by that scripture that Sharon was going to make it — and she did!

God’s Direction: What Proverbs Declares

• When considering God’s direction, we must remember this famous verse from Proverbs.

Proverbs 3:5–6 (ESV) — 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

• The word ‘trust’ in this verse is an action word, a verb that means to have strong confidence or reliance upon God.
• We trust with all our heart, then we lean on Jesus.
• We bypass the opportunity to lean not on our own understanding!
• The word lean means to depend or rely on.
• So, we trust, not our understanding.
• What is understanding?
• It is the capacity for rational thought.
• We don’t lean, depend, or rely on our rational thinking.
• We trusting for God’s direction instead.
• If you could receive God’s direction from rational thought, you wouldn’t need the Lord, now would you?
• We’ve tried this ‘leaning on our own understanding’ and it didn’t end up well.
• We have a lot of experience in this, so we understand we can’t figure out the path we should take.
• Instead, we acknowledge Him in all our ways. To acknowledge is to accept someone’s claim about themselves.
• Now, we are making progress.
• We don’t lean, depend, or rely on rational thinking when trusting for God’s direction.
• Instead, we accept God will do what He claimed He will do.
• And, what will He do?
• The Lord will make ‘straight paths’ for your feet.
• The words ‘make straight’ are also a verb describing action.
• It means make straight’ means to make something upright and moral.
• God is the one making straight your paths.
• The best result we could muster is to carve out a crooked inefficient path when we use our heads.
• You know, we all accumulate knowledge.
• We pile it up in big bunches.
• Isn’t that what the internet is about?
• Despite accumulated knowledge, we choose to depend on a far greater power than the Internet!
• We depend on the Lord, Most High!
• We are training ourself to do this more and more.
• At times, we lingered in the mental realm too long trying to work everything out.
• Then we had the thought, ‘Maybe I ought to pray about this!’
• ‘Maybe I should look into the Word of God and see what He has to say about this!’
• As I said, we are getting better and better at this and consequently our path is straighter, and true.
• Now, that’s some general thoughts on God’s direction.

God’s Direction: Walk in Love

• But when Paul prayed for the Thessalonians, he wasn’t asking only for general leadings for the people of God.
• He believed that the love of God and the unwavering commitment of Jesus required divine intervention.

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God…

• So, get it now: the Lord wants us walking in love towards one another as well as enjoying His love towards us!
• It goes in both directions.
• Can we say it another way?
• The Lord wants you to be tender towards others and enjoy His tenderness towards you.
• With that thought, here is the Illustration of the Day.

One day a single friend asked a father of four, “Why do you love your kids?” The father thought for a minute, but the only answer he could come up with was “Because they’re mine.” The children did not need to do anything to prove themselves to this father. He took them just as they were. So it is with God’s love for us. He loves us as we are, and it is his love that motivates us to trust and obey him in return.⁶

• God loves you just because and He will direct you into this reality.

1 John 4:16 (ESV) — 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

• Do you believe that the God who is love, loves you?
• In one sense, Paul is praying to God that He would draw the Thessalonians closer to Himself.

John 6:44 (ESV) — 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

• The Father is drawing you to Him.
• He is pursuing you.
• His goodness and mercy will run you down like an Olympic sprinter does the finish line.
• He will not leave you alone.
• In the night season, He will give you a song.
• In the day season, His Presence will come on just because.
• He really does like being around you.
• Just a few verses before, Jesus said this.

John 6:37 (ESV): — 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

• Loneliness? — Not happening.
• Love is in hot pursuit of you.
• Get used to Him bothering you.
• The prophet Jeremiah said one day:

‘Look, I’m tired of all this. You mess with me and give me a message to speak to your people and none of them wants to hear it. Forget this stuff. I’m so done and out of here.’

• But, he wasn’t done — He couldn’t get away from the God that pursued Him.
• His Word boiled up on the inside of Him until it was a smoking fire.
• He will not leave you alone.
• Just forget it.
• One day Jonah said something similar to the Lord that Jeremiah did.
• He told the Lord…

I’m so done with you. I don’t like how you do business with these Ninivites. Get you somebody else to go talk to them. I’m going on a cruise.

• You know what happened to Him.
• The cruise didn’t go so well — God prepared a great fish to get Jonah’s attention.
• Look! Save yourself a lot of headache and just let the Lord love you.
• You should really enjoy the thought of God coming after you!

Jeremiah 31:3 (NKJV) — 3 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying:“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

• Why is God so wonderful at directing you into His love?
• Good question!
• The answer in a word? – Perspective.
• The Lord’s perspective is infinitely different than ours.
• He is called the Most High God for a reason.
• He is called that because in perspective he is in heaven high above the earth.

Psalm 97:9 (ESV) — 9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

Psalm 113:5 (ESV) — 5 Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high,

• Try looking at things from His vantage point.

An aircraft pilot was following a major highway and observing the traffic below. One particular car caught his attention. The driver was attempting to pass a large truck, but because of oncoming traffic and no-passing zones, he could not pass safely. Repeatedly, just as he would pull out, an oncoming vehicle would force him to retreat. The pilot, being able to see several miles down the highway, thought to himself, “If I could only talk to the driver, I could tell when and where it is safe to pass.” God, of course, is the ultimate Pilot and possesses the ultimate view. ⁷

• That’s what having perspective does for you.
• It’s something you can lean back on and trust — He will use His unique perspective for you just as the pilot wanted to on the story we just shared.
• Fall back on His love.
• Lean back in trust and let Him catch you.
• Let’s talk about the steadfastness of Jesus for a moment.

God’s Direction: Walk in Stedfastness

May the Lord direct your hearts… to the steadfastness of Christ.

• When you do a word search on the Greek word translated ‘steadfastness,’ two words pop up: patience and endurance.
• BDAG says that steadfastness is the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty, patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance.⁸
• Would you agree Jesus had fortitude?
• Fortitude is courage in adversity.
• Why was Paul praying that God would direct the Thessalonians into the steadfastness of Jesus?
• Because they were being persecuted and needed to persevere.
• Jesus is your example in these things.

Hebrews 12:1–4 (ESV) — 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

• Did you hear the word endurance in verse one? — let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us?
• It’s the same word translated ‘steadfastness’ in Second Thessalonians three.
• The steadfastness that Paul is asking God to lead you into is the endurance of Jesus.
• Endurance simply means — nothing moves you.
• You won’t change.
• There’s no quit.
• You won’t stop.
• There’s no way you’re turning back.
• Turning back to what?
• Where would you go — where would I go — he has the words of eternal life?
• The devil has zero — why would you turn back to your former life of sin?
• It makes no sense.
• Now get it – Paul prayed for these two areas in the life of this church.
• He prayed they would experience God’s direction, leading them into His love and into Jesus’ example of endurance.
• What’s the bottom line?
• If Jesus can overcome, you can too.

1 John 5:4 (ESV) — 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Now, Father God, thank you for loving us and helping us to stand. We are the victors through your Son, Jesus. Glory be to God.

• Why God’s Love and Direction Are a Match Made in Heaven.
• You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

Conscience Scripture List

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