How to Get Guidance from God: 4 Steps from Proverbs
Have you ever insisted you knew the way, only to turn a one-hour drive into ninety minutes of wrong turns? Pastor Josh opened this week's message with exactly that memory—insisting he could navigate without the Maps app while his wife pleaded with him to just follow the directions. It's a small, funny picture of a much bigger truth: a good guide gets you where you need to go, and a bad guide leaves you delayed, lost, or worse.
Here's the good news at the heart of this sermon: God is a good guide, and He genuinely wants to give you guidance. The real question isn't whether God wants to lead you—it's whether you'll listen.
Where the Series Begins
This message kicks off a short series called Guidance for Today, walking through the book of Proverbs—often called the most practical book in the Bible. Proverbs sets the tone from the start:
"Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance." (Proverbs 1:5)
Guidance is available. But it comes to those who hear. With that foundation laid, the sermon offered four practical steps for receiving God's direction.
1. Fearing God Is the First Step
Proverbs is blunt about where wisdom starts:
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7)
To fear the Lord doesn't mean being terrified of Him, as if He were a threat to run from. It means deep reverence and respect. Think about how differently you'd behave if a younger sibling walked into the room versus the king of a nation. The more you truly respect someone, the more you honor them—and the more you listen.
The point lands like this: if you have a guidance problem, you may actually have a reverence problem. When we treat God too casually—as a buddy rather than the Creator, Sustainer, and Savior—we stop listening, and when we stop listening we stop being led. Reverence is the foundation. Without it, the whole building falls apart.
2. Trust God Over Self
The second step is one of the most familiar passages in Scripture—don't let its familiarity make it feel small:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Notice it says trust with all your heart, not your head. You can believe God exists without ever entrusting your life to Him. As James reminds us, "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!" (James 2:19). Head knowledge alone is the faith of demons.
Picture the world's safest airplane. You can admire the blueprints, tour the cockpit, and agree it's incredible—but if you refuse to get on board, you don't actually trust it. Trusting God with your heart means climbing in. It's the difference between saying "God is forgiving" and saying "I am forgiven."
And trusting Him means submitting in all your ways—not some of them, not just on Sundays. You're still in the driver's seat with real freedom, but you're no longer the one who decides the destination. Like a soldier driving an officer, you go where your commander directs.
3. See Past the Surface
Sometimes the path that looks right is the very one that leads to ruin:
"There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 16:25)
This is exactly how temptation works—wrapping something harmful inside something that looks good, like bait on a hook. Maturity means learning to look beneath the surface. The sermon offered three clarifying questions:
Am I living by feelings or by faith? Feelings fluctuate daily. Don't make long-term decisions on temporary emotions.
Is this a good long-term choice? Ask what your life will look like next week, next year, in ten years—not just in this moment.
If someone else were in this situation, what would I tell them? This question pulls your emotions out of the way so you can see clearly.
And when you still can't see, invite others in:
"Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." (Proverbs 11:14)
We all have blind spots, just like every car does. Wise, godly counselors—a pastor, a mentor, a seasoned brother or sister in Christ—can see what we can't. The catch is that many people won't speak into your life unless you give them permission. So give it.
4. God's Plans Prevail—And That's Good News
Finally, Proverbs reminds us who is ultimately in charge:
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." (Proverbs 16:9)
Make your plans—there's nothing wrong with that. But hold them loosely. Pastor Josh shared how our own church landed in its current building through a phone call he never expected, for a location he wasn't even considering. His plans said no; God's plan was better.
Here's the beautiful part: guidance isn't only something God gives it's something He does. Like a shepherd gently nudging a wandering sheep with his staff, God actively leads His people. And Jesus is that shepherd:
"I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep." (John 10:14-15)
The same Shepherd who wants to guide you is the one who laid down His life to save you. He doesn't just say He loves you; He proved it on the cross.
A Takeaway to Sit With
Do you know the Shepherd's voice? And when He speaks, do you follow?
Reflect this week: What is the one area where you most need God's guidance right now—and which step are you skipping? Reverence, trust, seeing past the surface, or surrendering your plans to His?
If you're in Livermore or anywhere across the Tri-Valley and you're looking for a church family to walk this out with, we'd love to worship alongside you and help you take your next step of faith. You don't have to figure out the way alone—the Good Shepherd is ready to lead.