Loretta Gjeltema Home

I love walking on the beach. It’s beautiful and relaxing for me for about the first five minutes, then my body protests from the sinking sand under each step. My knees start to protest and eventually the waddle down the beach can get downright ugly! Well OK, maybe I love the idea of walking on the beach.

We walk best when we are on firm ground! And if we follow where God leads that is where we will stay. It’s that boundaries thing all over again. We really do, deep down, want boundaries. We may chafe at the idea of the limit, but we have freedom within the lines.

That’s what God does for us, he keeps us between the lines of safety. So to hear God and stay connected to his will we can benefit from these three tools:Boundaries

This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.” Jeremiah 6:16

You find the boundaries in his Word. If you stick with what God tells you about where to go and what to do, then that’s a big part of the battle. As one who memorizes scripture, we can be one who knows full well where those boundaries lie when we approach the limit.

Prayer

Listening can be hard! My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Proverbs 2:1-2

Then, there are those gray zones. How do you know where to go when you hit one of those? Prayer is good here. God nudges us in the direction he knows is best. Trouble is we often pray those, ” I want to go there Lord prayers, so make it good!” When instead, we need to be getting to know God’s nature and listening for that soft voice of his Spirit within us.

The Right Friends

The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. Proverbs 27:9

Remember the game show? I choose call a friend! You can also chat with a Christian friend to help you stay on firm ground but this will require a friend who knows the word and spends time in prayer so they hear the Spirit speak to their heart. A good friend will tell us the hard thing, when the hard thing needs to be spoken. Such friends are rarely numerous, but if we have one or two in your life, we are blessed.

This week, a friend called to ask my advise. I knew she would call and I knew why. I wanted to offer her wisdom and honesty, so I prayed for help asking for guidance to say only things that would point my friend to the firm foundation.

You can ready yourself for those moments when you need direction by daily spending time in the Word and by becoming so familiar with the character of the Speaker of that Word. Your goal: know immediately how He’d answer your question because you know the Word. Spend time in prayer so that you learn to sort out the voice of God’s spirit from that of your own or our culture. Cultivate honest, Godly friendships where truth is spoken and accountability is valued.

I’m praying for you this week. I’m praying that together we will commit to time in God’s word and prayer. And I’m praying if you need an honest friend who’s also a Christ-follower that God will point you in the right direction!

All verses are from the New Living Translation.

Sharing at LyliDunbar.com this week.