1. “My sheep hear My voice...and they follow Me” (John 10:27, see also v. 16).
The Lord Jesus’ sheep hear His voice and follow Him. Therefore, the Lord’s voice also leads us so that we may follow Him. We belong to the Lord, and we should pay attention to His voice and follow Him according to His voice.
2. “A great, strong wind...an earthquake...a fire...And after the fire, a gentle, quiet voice...came to him and said” (1 Kings 19:11-13).
Elijah’s experience shows that the Lord speaks to His followers in a gentle, quiet voice. It is not a powerful voice like a great wind or an earthquake or a fire. The Lord was not in the great wind, the earthquake, or the fire. He was in the gentle, quiet voice that spoke to Elijah. Today the Lord often speaks to us and leads us with a gentle, quiet voice through the Holy Spirit within us. We should not look to the Lord to speak to us outwardly through miracles and great events. He directs us inwardly through a gentle, quiet voice.
1. “I will instruct you and teach you concerning the way you should go; / I will counsel you; my eye is upon you” (Psa. 32:8).
What is spoken of here is marvelous. The Lord instructs those who come near to Him and teaches them the way that they should go by guiding them with His eye. This kind of leading is very intimate. It is not expressed with words but with the expression of the eyes. For example, when we go to someone’s home, the husband may simply look at his wife, who then knows that she should serve tea. This kind of communication is possible only between people who are close to one another.
1. “Your word is a lamp to my feet / And a light to my path” (Psa. 119:105).
The Bible is the Lord’s word to us. In principle it reveals the Lord’s will to us in everything. Therefore, the Bible often enlightens us, lighting our steps in our way of following the Lord. This is another way that He leads us.
In ancient times when people went out at night on a dark road, they carried a torch to light their path. Wherever they walked, they had light. If they did not go to a certain place, the light did not go there either. Spiritually speaking, we are living in the night, and the Bible is like a torch—a lamp—that lights our way. The lamp is a light to our feet and to our path. It is for our walking, and it shines on our steps. If we do not walk in God’s way, we will not be enlightened by the Bible. If we do not walk in God’s way with our feet, and instead only use our mind to read God’s Word, we will not gain light. God’s Word shines forth light when our feet walk in God’s way. Step by step, the Word is a lamp to our feet. Wherever we go, the Word of God enlightens us.
We must read the Bible carefully to discover its principles as the standard for our living and being. We must not use the Bible as if it were a fortune-telling book. Rather than reading the Bible consistently, some people open the Bible only when they have a problem. Then they pray a little and randomly point to a page. They regard whatever word that they point to as the Lord’s direction and leading. This is superstitious and can sometimes be very dangerous. A person once opened the Bible and pointed to the words in Matthew 27:5 about Judas, which said, “He went away and hanged himself.” It is easy to see how dangerous this method could be. Do you think that he should have hung himself? Sometimes this method can also produce very coincidental results. Once there was a brother in Fukien who did not know whether he should go to Southeast Asia to work for the Lord. He opened the Bible and pointed to the words in Acts 8:26 which said, “Go south.” Despite the coincidence, do you think that this leading was reliable? The Bible should not be used this way. We should read its clear teachings and understand them, or we should learn its principles as our guide. Deuteronomy 22:10 says that an ox and a donkey should not be yoked together. In principle, this means that those who are clean should not be yoked with those who are unclean. By this we know that God does not permit those who have been cleansed by faith to cooperate with or to be yoked together with unclean unbelievers in anything, including marriage, business, or other matters. Therefore, in order to use the Bible as our guide in living, acting, or working before God, we must read the Bible carefully and then understand and apply it according to our proper understanding. This is the way of one who truly follows the Lord and is led by Him.