Can you be led? Your willingness to allow the Lord to lead you will determine how you live. The Lord has unique plans for us and is always at work around us to help them unfold. To follow the Lord means adjusting our lives to Him.
As we go through life, the enemy tempts us to turn away from God’s plan and go our own way. There have been times when I did not follow the Lord’s guidance and suffered the consequences. Has the Lord given you second chances along your spiritual journey when you refused to follow? How did second chances affect you?
Jonah received a second chance to be led by the Lord when he failed the first time. When God first spoke, Moses was not interested in leading the Israelites out of captivity. With the Lord’s encouragement, Moses reconsidered what He requested, which changed his life and those around him.
The Lord Can Only Do What We Allow
During the days of the prophet Isaiah, Israel was a people the Lord dearly loved, but they were stubborn and rebellious. The Lord loved them so much that He continually worked on their behalf. God often compares the nation of Israel to a vineyard and Himself to the Gardner.
The Bible tells us that the Lord worked hard to make their lives fruitful, but they rejected His ways. Isaiah 5:1 Now I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a rich and fertile hill. 2 He plowed the land, cleared its stones, and planted it with the best vines. In the middle, he built a watchtower and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks. Then he waited for a harvest of sweet grapes, but the grapes that grew were bitter. [1]
The Lord is Rich in Grace
Grace is God’s undeserved love, and we see the Lord pouring His grace on Israel. They are stubborn, yet the Lord will keep His covenant with them to send the promised Messiah. Yes, there will be a judgment on Israel because of their sin. Yet, God tells Isaiah of hope in a Savior to come.
The Lord tells the King Ahaz of the Messiah who will come into the world in His timing. Isaiah 7:14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).[2] Jesus would come into the world and lead people out of the darkness. His death and resurrection enable us to receive forgiveness as we trust Him.
When we let the Lord lead us to faith and to the plans He has for us, it changes our lives. Take the next step of faith where the Lord is leading, and be amazed at what He does through you! Can you be led? To find out more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/worship-after-revelation
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Is 5:1–2). Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Is 7:14). Tyndale House Publishers.
Great message this week, Pastors Tom and Paula!! Sooooo good to hear your voices!! Love you!! Happy TG and Merry Christmas from all of us at H2H in Honduras!