A Deep, Quiet Assurance: Knowing God’s Leading
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3
Behind every life-changing, heart-gripping event, there is a story beneath the story. It is sometimes never told, at least to the crowds.
Rachel Saint, missionary to the jungle peoples of Ecuador, told the story beneath the story of the martyrdom of her brother Nate Saint along with four other missionaries on January 8, 1956. In Ethel Wallace’s gem-of-a-book The Dayuma Story, we learn those tragic events that captured the world’s attention and inspired countless missionaries really began in the place of prayer. It began in the private, quiet place of a young, single woman seeking the Lord’s leading in her life.
No one could have imagined the journey that would arise from that time of stillness and prayer.
Years before the fateful afternoon along the jungle river, Rachel wrote in her journal,
…a quiet, deep assurance settled on me. The Aucas are those who have “never heard”. I know that one day I will go to live among them to share God’s love.
The Dayuma Story by Ethel Wallace
She did not know how God would bring this seemingly impossible goal about. But she knew that she knew it was God’s leading in her life. Others thought her dream impossible. It had never been done successfully before. The Waodani, or the Aucas, were one of the most violent known people groups on earth, famous for spearing all who threatened their territory. And that is indeed what they did to Rachel’s brother and his colleagues on that fateful day in 1956.
Had Rachel seen the future, the cost to her personally, fear may have choked her resolve. But maybe not.
She knew the secret to guidance, the secret to following God. Rachel understood the necessity of getting alone with God, seeking Him in prayer, meditating upon His Word, and waiting for that “quiet, deep assurance.”
Because she had disciplined her soul to find God’s will in that way, Rachel’s quiet, deep assurance never left her even in the face of tragedy. Two years after the death of her brother and his fellow missionaries, she and Elisabeth Elliot were invited to live with the Waodani because of a friendship between Rachel and a young Waodani girl. This girl, Dayuma, happened to be sister to one of the men who speared Rachel’s brother. Dayuma became the first Christian among the tribe. The power of forgiveness washed over that tribe and many others followed Dayuma’s faith in Christ. The Waodani people were transformed by God’s love.
The quiet, deep assurance Rachel spoke of is a hallmark of God’s leading. Entire people groups have been changed by it. Generations have been redirected. Lives have been eternally transformed.
In today’s world, does anyone stop in the quietness long enough to seek God’s face for quiet, deep assurance of His leading? To do so is certainly a challenge in this noisy world. But it is from the quiet place of deep assurance that we go forth with confidence and see the world changed by God’s redeeming power. This is the place where we learn His will for our lives.
Thomas A`Kempis said,
Often I am wearied by all I read and hear. In You alone is all that I desire and long for. Therefore let all teachers keep silence, and let all creation be still before You; do You, O Lord, speak alone.
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A’ Kempis
To know God’s leading, we must seek Him.
To hear His voice, we must set aside quiet, uninterrupted time to listen.
There is a time to silence all other voices, be they teachers or counselors, and get alone with God and His inspired word, the Bible.
Waiting for deep, quiet assurance is a discipline that we must intentionally pursue. We must make it happen, it will not just happen to us. It is surprisingly difficult to do, though so simple and profound.
I find that when I set aside time to be with God alone in a quiet place, I am restless and a bit fidgety. My body, my mind, my thoughts, are not used to focusing so intently, to listening for God. I am not comfortable being still. It takes time and practice to quieten myself and fix my heart upon Him. Opening the Bible to the Psalms and Proverbs is a helpful starting place. Reading aloud from these two wonderful books sets my heart upon His thoughts.
I always have a pen and paper handy. I write down any verse that jumps out at me, any thought that is pronounced in my mind.
Any concern, and shadow of anxiety that clouds my mind during this time, I bring before Him in prayer. God knows the root of all my anxiety, and He shepherds me to a place of stillness (Psalm 23).
I meditate on His Word and let it sink deep into my soul. I think on it as I go about my daily work. I keep my heart open in the inner place to hearing His leading. It is possible to retreat to an inner place with Him in our hearts even among a noisy crowd.
God has much to say to us. He knows the plans He has for us, plans to give us hope, and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). He is waiting for us to set aside time to listen.
A deep, quiet assurance… this is what I long for in the decisions I face today. I will intentionally pursue time to listen to my God until I know that assurance in whatever I face right now.
I choose to stubbornly refuse any life-directing decision without knowing his quiet, deep assurance. Will He be delayed by my waiting? Will I, by waiting for Him, delay His will in my life? I think not. Rather, I believe I will attain the rock-solid confidence I will need to continue in His will in the coming days when pressures would have otherwise made me faint with doubt.
Lord, I commit to set aside intentional time to listen quietly for Your leading in my life. Amen.
To read more about the story of the Waodani, see these resources:
Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot
End of the Spear, by Steve Saint
No Comments