Being Led Is About Following

This matter of being led by God can be tricky – not so much because it is complicated, but because our focus is on a desire to experience being “led” rather than on a desire to “follow” revealed leadership. Being led is not our own privileged game of “Simon says,” with the Almighty. Like Abraham’s servant (sent on a mission to find a bride for Abraham’s son) we are people with a clearly disclosed assignment to represent God in his character and conduct in everyday life. And, like Abraham’s servant, that assignment has been explained to us in terms of what fulfilling it looks like. There is nothing private or privileged about the direction God is leading those who trust him.

This brings up the point which is most often our interest when we speak of “being led.” We want some kind of circumstantial endorsement. To say that God told us to turn right on Main Street, carries personal weight. However, this is not what Abraham’s servant had in mind when he said, “I being in the way, the LORD led me.”

The second feature of being led is about following leadership.God led because the servant followed.

Consider the story: First, the servant allowed God to lead him by taking care of obvious preparations. Second, the servant asked God to arrange circumstances to fulfill the job. Had God not given those circumstances, the servant still had what he needed to know to follow God's leadership along a different path. Third, when God gave the desired circumstances, the servant still proceeded with caution until it was clear the circumstances actually met the criteria of the assignment. Through the whole process the servant allowed God to lead by doing what he should, being where he should and knowing what he should about how God works.


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