WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
AUGUST 19, 2025
TOPIC: WILLINGLY FOLLOW GOD’S GUIDANCE
BY T. O. BANSO
“Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you” (Psalm 32:9 New International Version).
Jonah was a prophet who didn’t willingly follow the LORD’s guidance. The LORD told Jonah, the son of Amittai, to go to Nineveh, a great city, the ancient capital city of the Assyrian Empire, and announce His judgment against it. This was because of the wickedness of the people, which had come before the LORD.
Jonah 1:3 says, “But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord” (New King James Version).
One would have expected that, as the prophet of God, Jonah would have obeyed the LORD immediately and followed His guidance to go to Nineveh, but he didn’t. He rather went in the opposite direction, several kilometers away from where the LORD had sent Him. “But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord” (Jonah 1:3a New Living Translation). How could he have thought he could get away from the LORD? Money was not his problem. He had enough money to go against the will of God! The Bible says he paid the fare!
There are many people like Jonah today. God’s leading is very clear to them. They have no doubts about God’s guidance for them. They are fully aware of His will. But they are not comfortable with it. They don’t like where God is leading them or what He is leading them into. Therefore, they go their way because they have the resources to go against His will.
Eventually, God interrupted Jonah’s journey with a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship was about to be broken up. When the sailors found out Jonah was the cause of their trouble, they, at his request, threw him into the sea, and the raging storm ceased.
Jonah preferred to die rather than obey the LORD. A repentant sinner would have obeyed the LORD, but Jonah did not. He had thought he would die in the sea rather than go to obey the LORD, which should have been a wiser option. The LORD ensured he didn’t die. He had prepared a fish to swallow him, not to eat him.
Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the fish and repented. “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. ‘Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice. For You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the floods surrounded me; all Your billows and Your waves passed over me’” (Jonah 2:2-3 New King James Version).
Jonah continued, “Then I said, ‘I have been cast out of Your sight; yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.’ The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; the deep closed around me; weeds were wrapped around my head. I went down to the moorings of the mountains; the earth with its bars closed behind me forever; yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God” (verses 4-6 New King James Version).
Eventually, the LORD commanded the fish to vomit Jonah on the beach (Jonah 2:10). The guidance that Jonah refused to follow initially, he followed after he had been vomited on the beach. He couldn’t escape from following the LORD. He preserved him in the belly of the fish, a condition that must have been a nightmare for him!
Jesus referred to Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish thus: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40 New King James Version).
The LORD could have left Jonah and called another person to go and deliver His judgment to Nineveh, but He didn’t. When Elijah thought he was the only true prophet of God remaining, the LORD told him He had reserved seven thousand in Israel, who had never bowed to Baal or kissed him (1 Kings 19:18).
The LORD might have insisted that Jonah must go to deliver the message He had sent him to make a point that nobody could run away from Him. His eyes run to and fro through the earth (2 Chronicles 16:9). His counsel shall stand, and He will do all His pleasure (Isaiah 46:10b).
Psalm 66:3-4 says, “Say to God, ‘How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your name’” (New King James version).
Let’s go back to the story of Jonah, the prophet whom God gave a second chance to go and deliver His judgment to Nineveh. The Bible says this after the fish had vomited Jonah: “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, ’Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent. And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” (Jonah 3:1-4 New King James Version). The people of Nineveh repented in response to Jonah’s message of impending judgment, and God forgave them.
The main message of this devotional is not to be like Jonah, who didn’t willingly follow the LORD’s leading or guidance. It took three days and three nights in the belly of the fish for Him to do the will of the LORD.
How many people have delayed their journeys in life because they didn’t want to go to where God sent them, but preferred somewhere else? Unlike Jonah, some died on their way to ‘Tarshish’ instead of going to ‘Nineveh’. They didn’t have the privilege of a great fish to swallow and vomit them. They died prematurely.
Some are living a miserable life because they’re outside the will of God for them. Psalm 68:6b says that the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Don’t rebel against the will of the LORD as Jonah did, and he suffered. Don’t expose yourself to unnecessary hardship, frustration, and danger by refusing to go where God has sent you or rejecting His offers. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25).
Willingly follow God’s guidance. Go where He leads you. Don’t struggle against His guidance or direction. The Lord says that He will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; He will guide you with His eye (Psalm 32:8). He knows what is best for you, and you should willingly follow it even when you don’t understand. Trust in Him. You are in safe hands.
The LORD warns: “Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, else they will not come near you” (Psalm 32:9 New King James Version). Horses or mules won’t come near you unless you control them by bit and bridle. They will only act by force and constraint.
You are a human being, not a horse or mule! You are not just a human being; you are a child of God. “Don’t be stupid like horses and mules that must be led with ropes to make them obey” (Psalm 32:9 Contemporary English Version).
The horse or mule doesn’t have an understanding, but God has given you understanding. When you act as if you don’t have understanding, you bring yourself low to the level of a horse or mule! You have a conscience. In addition, you have the Word of God to guide you. His Word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Psalm 119:105). You also have the Holy Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Romans 8:14). Don’t be stubborn and be forced like a horse. Don’t wait until you find yourself in the belly of the fish or trouble before you follow God’s guidance or will.
Don’t be like horses or mules. “Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body” (James 3:3 New King James Version). You are a child of God, not a horse or mule that doesn’t come near willingly. “A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the fool’s back” (Proverbs 26:3 New King James Version). You’re not a fool, a horse, or a mule. Respond willingly to God’s guidance. Obey God promptly.
Jeremiah 4:22 says, “For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge” (New King James Version). Don’t be a fool. Follow God’s guidance. Don’t run down the wrong road like horses running blindly into battle (Jeremiah 8:6b).
The LORD says that if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword (Isaiah 1:19-20). The sword shall not devour you in Jesus’ name. God has made you wiser than the animals and birds (Job 35:11b). Don’t act like the horses or mules. Willingly follow God’s guidance. “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8a New King James Version). God’s guidance can be through His Word or the Holy Spirit, in a small voice, an inner witness, or a knowing. It can also be through dreams, visions, trances, prophecies, Godly counsel, and circumstances. Follow God’s guidance.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your heart to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your heart. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There, they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me, and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I invite Jesus into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I repent of any way I have not followed your guidance or will. Forgive me, Father. Holy Spirit, help me to willingly follow God’s guidance or will from today. Let me not be confused about the way to go or God’s will in every situation. I shall be willing and obedient and eat the good of the land. I shall not refuse and rebel; the sword shall not devour me.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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