If you have ever gone into a crowded place with children, you know that sometimes you cannot walk side by side. Instead of walking ahead of my children, I used to walk behind them, guiding them with my hand on a shoulder or telling them which way to turn to get where we needed to be. It never dawned on me that I was guiding them in the same way that God sometimes guides me until I read this Scripture today in my devotional.

Notice the word “behind” in this verse. God is not always ahead of us although sometimes He is. Other times He is behind us and we have to listen carefully to hear His voice of instruction. If we turn the wrong way, He will tell us if we are listening. And if we turn the right way, He will also let us know. He doesn’t leave us to flounder alone on an unknown path. He is behind us, until He needs to step in front of us. I find comfort in the fact that God is all around me, if I just get quiet and listen. I can depend on Him to be just where He needs to be in my life, always. God is never too late or too early or in the wrong place at the wrong time. If He needs to be behind us in order to make sure that we are paying attention, then that’s what He will do.

This is a prophecy from Isaiah, but I believe with all of my heart that we can claim this promise today. We who are Christians are not blinded to the truth of the Gospel. We have chosen to hear that truth and now we can use our ears and the gift of the Holy Spirit to truly listen to what God is saying to us about our the choices we are making. He will let us know if they are good ones, if we just listen.