1. “I will counsel you; my eye is upon you” (Psa. 32:8).
God’s intimate leading with His eye requires that we be close to and open to God. If we are far from Him, we will not see how He is leading us with His eye. We must be close to Him. However, being close is not enough; we must also be open to Him. If there is a barrier between Him and us, we cannot see what He is saying with His eye, no matter how close we are. Being close but not open means that we cannot see at all. I can be very close to you, but if there is a piece of paper between us, I cannot see your eyes. Therefore, we need to be close to and also open to the Lord. There should be no distance between us, and there should be no barriers. Only then will we be able to receive the intimate leading of His eye.
1. “My sheep hear My voice...and they follow Me” (John 10:27).
To be led by the Lord, we must also be able to hear the Lord’s voice. Because the Lord’s voice is gentle and quiet, we need to be quiet in order to hear it. We must not only be quiet outwardly, but even more we must be quiet inwardly because the Lord’s voice, which is gentle and quiet, is also within us. To hear the Lord’s voice, we must not only be at peace, but even more we must be inwardly peaceful. We must learn to constantly return to our inner being and listen to the Lord’s voice—His gentle, quiet voice—in a peaceful condition so that we can be led by Him. If we seek to hear the Lord’s voice outwardly, we will be deceived by the falsehood of Satan’s evil spirits. This kind of deceit actually occurred previously in Fukien.
1. “He awakens me morning by morning; / He awakens my ear / To hear as an instructed one” (Isa. 50:4).
Being able to hear the Lord’s word is very much related to being led by the Lord. We should learn to come before the Lord every morning as an instructed one looking to Him to speak to us. We should ask the Lord to awaken our ears to hear His word. Although the Bible is the Lord’s word, it is written in black and white letters. Prayer is needed in order to make it fresh and living so that He can give us His direction and leading each day.
1. “We saw His star at its rising...So it is written through the prophet” (Matt. 2:2, 5).
When the magi from the east first saw Christ’s star, they obtained a revelation of His birth, but they did not know where Christ would be born. When they compared their revelation to the Old Testament, they knew He would be born in Bethlehem. We often have an inward sense from the Lord and even obtain a revelation from Him, but we must compare this revelation to the Scriptures to clearly understand the Lord’s meaning. Therefore, we must be very familiar with the Bible so that we can compare it to our sense from Him in order to understand His revelations and be led by Him.
1. “To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because in them there is no dawn” (Isa. 8:20).
In being led by the Lord in various matters, we must absolutely take the Lord’s Word—the Bible—as our standard. Even if a sense of leading comes from a feeling, a dream or vision, the direction of our situation, a teaching that we received from someone, or something that we read in a book, it still must be according to the Lord’s Word in order for us to receive it and to understand His leading. If it is not according to the Bible, it will not be reliable, it will lack the Lord’s light, and it will not be something that we should receive.
1. “Though the Lord has given you / ...adversity... oppression, / ...your eyes will see your Teacher. / And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, / This is the way, walk in it, / When you turn to the right or turn to the left” (Isa. 30:20-21).
Adversity and oppression often cause us to be taught by the Lord so that we may know whether we are walking in the way of the Lord when we turn right or left. Many times comfort and peace can confuse us.
1. “Arise...flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you” (Matt. 2:13).
The Lord wanted Joseph to flee into Egypt and stay there until He told him differently. Joseph had to obey the Lord’s leading in this first step and flee into Egypt before he could be led in a second step to know where the Lord wanted him to go. Similarly, when Abraham was called, the Lord led him only concerning his first step to leave the land of his fathers. After he obeyed, the Lord led him with a second step by showing him where he should live. The Lord often leads us one step at a time. When we obey, He tells us about the next step. The Lord rarely leads us two or more steps at once. Thus, we must obey the Lord’s leading concerning the first step before we can receive the Lord’s leading concerning the second step.
1. “He makes me lie down in green pastures; / He leads me beside waters of rest” (Psa. 23:2; see also S. S. 1:7).
When the Lord leads us, He shepherds us, causing us to enjoy the filling of green pastures and the rest by the waters of rest.
1. “He guides me on the paths of righteousness” (Psa. 23:3).
The Lord considers the paths of those who are led by Him to be righteous. Therefore, walking on the paths of righteousness is a result of being led by the Lord.