A recap of the first 5 Principles:

#1- God doesn’t need your strength to guide you, but you do need His strength to recognize His guidance.

#2- Make sure you are all in for Jesus.

#3- Stay within the circle of intimacy with God, and trust Him that you are on the dot of His good and perfect will.

#4- God’s signature on events is timing.

#5- God’s will is a flashlight, not a crystal ball; walk to the edge of the darkness and wait.

Now for Principle #6: Ask for a sign of encouragement.

We all need encouragement from time to time. We all need to be assured we are on the right path. A sign of encouragement is not a fleece.  It is a reassurance, not a bargaining chip.

Stop for a moment and read Psalm 86 (I will come back to it).

There are times we just need to know we are on the right path. Life is full of disappointments and heartaches and when they rear their ugly head, it is good to know God has got our back.  I don’t know about you, but those roadblocks can become stumbling blocks if I allow them to. They can cause me to hesitate, even doubt, I am on God’s path.  This, I believe, is a ploy of the enemy.

What better way to stop forward movement than to put an obstacle in the path of a vehicle? What better way to stop a follower of Jesus from moving forward than to take away his/her assurance that one is following God’s path, to cause hesitation and doubt to arise.

Psalm 86 has some powerful thoughts. Here are a few:

• Verses 8-10. There is no one like God. He stands alone.
• Verses 11-13. God will teach us His way. I believe He wants us to focus on His  glory and grace, not on “Am I on the right path or not?”
• Verses 15-16a. Right or wrong path (maybe less desirable is a better word), God is compassionate and gracious. He doesn’t get angry with us because we chose what turns out to be the wrong path to follow Him. (Not talking about sin here).

There have been times I chose a path (made a decision) I truly believed was the way He wanted me to go. Sometimes I got it right; sometimes I didn’t. But He didn’t turn His back on me either.

To wrap up today’s thoughts, please read verse 17 and take special note of that very first phrase: “Show me a sign of good.” Show me a sign of encouragement is another way to say that.

Note: In yesterday’s responses, Ryan S. asked for feedback on something he said. I encourage you to read what he said then possibly have some thoughts. I plan to give some of my thoughts in tomorrow’s devotion.