Guard Us, Guide Us

Here is a new book written by two authors who construct beautiful sentences and well-crafted chapters in order to teach Christians how it is that God communicates His will to us.

This book is not short, skimpy, or sparing. It is more than just simple principles, and yet in many ways it arises from a simple (and Scriptural) formulaic understanding of divine guidance. In fact, I often felt I was reading an expanded and prosaic version of John MacArthur’s straightforward “Found: God’s Will” booklet (with 5 principles I can still remember twenty years later).

The basic thrust of the book is to put “an end to fear”- the fear found in the heart of a believer over what God’s will is for their life. The authors combat false understandings, “some tangled tales” that hamper freedom and joy in the life of a believer who doubts whether they really can know God’s will. Furthermore, the authors seek to combat the notion that one bad mistake along the journey will inevitably thwart any future attempt to be found in God’s will.

They begin and end with Psalm 23 theology, establishing the “guard” and “guide” verbs of love flowing from the good shepherd to his sheep.  They also show how the Word of God provides light and understanding, and how we are to obey the divine text as being the very will of God, for that it is what it is.

The vital foundation for hearing and following God’s will is to be walking in overall spiritual health and vitality. This means holiness and purity and a heart desire to glorify God and obey Him. Without this commitment, a professing Christian has no reason to expect their sickly spiritual life will have ears and mind and heart to properly hear from God.

Packer and Nystrom present the church with a fresh formulation of divine spiritual direction. I am sure that additional reading and meditation will yield even more spiritual profit from their words. I can see this book being very useful for late high school and college students.