Having looked at the new view on guidance in the last post, I now move on to consider the Traditional view. The traditional view is the one long held by the Puritans and many of the old church fathers. It is here presented as a more comprehensive alternative. It has both elements of the new view but also insists that God has a particular plan and purpose for each person.

The central tenet to this view is that God sovereignly directs the lives of His people to fulfill His purposes for them (Psalm 57:2). This implies that we are to seek and submit to God’s guidance in all matters relating to life’s journey—its crossroads and branching paths. Life’s journey here refers to the major decisions in life that have the potential to impact the course of our lives. These major decisions include things such as work or the career (vocation) we pursue, questions of marriage and children, places we choose to live, which church we commit to, whether we run our own businesses or work for others, and other such decisions. This is opposed to seeking guidance as to which dress or shirt you wear on a particular day, as important as that is.

Several passages of Scripture appear to support this view of seeking the Lord’s guidance in the ways of life. Examples of such passages include Psalm 37:5–7: “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him…” As believers we are to commit our way to the LORD in trusting obedience, and asking for his direction and guidance. The LORD will act and direct our steps.

Psalm 48:14: “That this is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever.” Proverbs 3:5–7: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes…” This verse has long guided believers in the path of guidance. We are told to acknowlede Him in all our ways. The promise is that He will make straight our paths. Other versions say that “He shall direct your path.”

The life of David was marked by a pattern of “inquiring of the LORD.” He sought God’s direction in many of his endeavors, and the Lord directed his steps. When he failed to seek the Lord, he often went astray.

The same principle is seen in the time of Joshua. The Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the elders of Israel, and the problem is clearly stated: “So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD” (Joshua 9:14). Previously, they had sought the Lord’s counsel to determine their course. In this instance, they did not seek the LORD’s counsel and they ended up making a wrong decision that affected Israel for generations to come. In seeking his guidance and counsel, the LORD was to lead His people along paths they had not traveled before—hence the necessity of seeking His direction.

The life of the Lord Jesus Christ perfectly exemplified this principle. His “food” was to do the will of His Father. Even when His human will recoiled from the cross, He submitted fully to the Father’s will: “Yet not My will, but Yours be done.”

To summarise the traditional view of guidance is that God sovereignly directs the lives of His people for His glory and their good. As people of faith in Him, we are to seek His guidance and counsel in the major decisions of life.

There is a process to this that is described in the next post. Therefore, we need to be firmly convinced that God does guide and lead His people in their pathways of life. With this conviction, we can go about seeking and finding His will for us in the journey of life.

How, then, do we seek the will of God in our lives in light of these two views? That is what the next section will address.