“And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” (John 10:4-5 NKJV)

My husband and I recently had the privilege of visiting with a friend in Quebec City, Canada, and as a result, we had our own, personal guide.

If you are not familiar with Quebec City, it is the only fortified city left in North America – A modern city behind 17th century walls. Quebec City is also one of the most (if not THE most) European-style city in North America. Rich in history, there is much to see, and having our own personal guide throughout the winding streets was more than a blessing.

Our friend was particularly sensitive to our wishes and desires. However as we knew virtually nothing about the city, I found myself saying over and over again, “You are our guide! We will follow you!”

Just after lunch, I found myself again saying these words. And they were barely out of my mouth when I spotted a statue across the street, a memorial to General Montcalm, the general who is credited with leading the army in the battle that ended the Seven Years’ War between France and Great Brittan on the Plains of Abraham. As a result of the victory, all of “New France” – including the city we stood in – was transferred into British hands. Naturally, this resulted in Quebec later becoming part of Canada, and because I am interested in history, I had to see the memorial. “Look,” I said, running across the street towards the statue. “There’s the monument for Montcalm!”

As I stepped on the curb on the other side, I remembered the words that had just come from my lips seconds before the monument came into view: “You are our guide! We will follow you!”

I guess I wasn’t doing too good of a job at following my guide!

How often don’t we do the same thing with God?

Every morning I pray, “Be my guide today, Lord!” But moments later I am busy making my own plans without asking Him what He thinks. Oh, I am very sincere in this prayer. I want God to lead. But I get sidetracked, and then I go ahead and do my own thing anyway. Sometimes these decisions get me into trouble, and more often than not, I am tempted to blame God for not protecting from the trouble I got myself into.

But all the while, God is saying, “I tried to guide you, but you wouldn’t listen!”

The bottom line is, you can have the best guide in the world, but if you decide to not follow, it will lead to trouble.

Is the trouble the guide’s fault?

No. It is our own fault for not following the guide. We need to stop SAYING we want to follow God, and start FOLLOWING Him instead! We need to pray and ask God to guide us, but we also need to pray that God will show us where we have taken the lead. We need to humble ourselves before Him and ask His advice before making decisions, and then we need to follow where He tells us to go. If we don’t, then we become like I was in Quebec City: “You’re our guide, we follow you! But wait …”

Lyn Chaffart