An old joke that is popular among women speculates that the reasonΒ it took the Jews forty years to make the eleven-day journeyΒ across the wilderness (Deut. 1:2) is because Moses was a typical man,Β too stubborn to stop and ask for directions! Of course, Bible studentsΒ know that the real reason for this epic delay was Israelβs sinful rebellionΒ against God. Back then, the Lord led His people each step of theirΒ way with a cloud (Num. 9:15-23), but the cloud led them to βwanderΒ in the wilderness forty yearsβ (Num. 32:13) to punish them for theirΒ disobedience.
But in the absence of any guiding cloud today, how can we expectΒ the Lord to direct us? What exactly did Paul mean when he wrote,
βAnd the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into theΒ patient waiting for Christβ (2 Thes. 3:5).
Most grace believers know that God directs members of the BodyΒ of Christ with His Word, but there continues to be a lot of confusionΒ about this, based on verses like Proverbs 16:9:
βA manβs heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.β
Verses like this are used to teach that men plan what they are goingΒ to do, but then God comes along and overpowers their will and makesΒ them walk in a direction that is different than what they planned. ThisΒ interpretation leads to an extreme form of Calvinism that teaches thatΒ God is responsible for every move men make, that He is the PuppeteerΒ pulling the strings and man is the marionette doll responding helplesslyΒ to His every whim. This view of God borders on what is calledΒ fatalism. A lot of unbelievers believe that βfateβ controls everythingΒ in our lives and we are powerless to override its slightest caprice.
The obvious problem with believing that we are manipulated by theΒ Almighty and cannot make a move that He does not cause is that itΒ makes Him the author of our every sin. And so there must be some otherΒ explanation for verses like Proverbs 16:9, and we believe that thereΒ is. The only safe way to interpret the Bible is by comparing Scripture with Scripture (1 Cor.Β 2:13), so letβs compare the word βdirectethβ inΒ this verse to how Isaiah used the word in time past:
βWho hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counselorΒ hath taught Him?β (Isa. 40:13).
Notice that when the prophet says no one can direct the Spirit of theΒ Lord, he then goes on to rephrase his words by saying that the LordΒ cannot be counseled or taught. This, then, is what Paul meant whenΒ he spoke about God directing our hearts. God directs us by counselingΒ us through the teaching of His Word. A manβs evil heart devises hisΒ way (Jer. 17:9), and the Lord comes along and directs him to do whatΒ He commands by the counsel of His Word. source
