Crossing the Bridge and Seeking Guidance — Purity 1942
— By M.T. Clark, 04/20/2026 – Purity 1942 Audio Podcast
Purity 1942 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of the day is a beautiful piece of art by “our man in the UK,” my FB friend and brother in Christ, Philip Hand. While Phil didn’t give this specific piece a title, I’ve decided to call it “The Bridge of Dreams” because it reminds me that even in a chaotic world, there are beautiful things to enjoy and peaceful paths to follow.
Well, it is Monday morning, and this past “mini-move” weekend certainly provided some lessons in humility. On Friday night, after loading up my brother Mike’s pickup truck, I decided to add “one more thing” and proceeded to stack four “craft tables” into the back passenger seats on top of the boxes I had packed in there. I had packed the rear seats pretty much to capacity, but managed to squeeze the tables all the way to the ceiling of the truck’s cab.
I was excited to get the first load moved, but as I drove down the hill of Waite Road to River Road, the top table slid forward into the driver’s area—right over my head! I tried to stop it with my right hand, but the table slammed into the bottom of the truck’s interior windshield, causing it to crack! Leave it to me to get into an accident in my brother’s truck ten minutes into the move, without even going off the road or hitting another vehicle—and this was, of course, after Mike specifically warned me NOT to get into an accident and to take good care of his truck! It just goes to show that I’m as human as anyone else, and sometimes my “one more thing” mentality gets me into trouble.
Speaking of those times when we try to power through in our own strength, I’m sharing the In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley devotion from yesterday on the blog today because it reminds us to learn to do things God’s way and how cleansing our hearts is the key to hearing God’s voice and finding the right direction.
Charles Stanley writes:
“Seeking Guidance: The First Step
Through humble confession, the barriers that keep us from hearing God’s guidance are cleared away. — 1 John 1:8-10
By forsaking the worldly way, believers choose a narrow path (Matthew 7:13). However, we’re not meant to wander blindly on it. The Holy Spirit is our guide. But have you ever struggled to discern His divine guidance?
Seeking God’s direction involves a pattern that begins with cleansing—in other words, the first place to look is at ourselves. Ask, “Father, do You see anything in my life that might interfere with my understanding what You are saying?” Sin hinders the process: It clouds our judgment and how we experience the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Bible teaches that God cleanses us from unrighteousness when we confess our sins (1 John 1:9). It also contains a clear warning for those who refuse to relinquish a wrong habit or attitude—the Lord doesn’t heed their cries (Psalm 66:18). But even when mistakes are made, God will never forsake those who call Him Father (Hebrews 13:5).
Cleansing is woven into the process of gaining divine guidance. The Holy Spirit brings sin to our attention and equips us to deal with it. So on the way to receiving His clear direction, we may revisit this first step of cleansing often. The result is, we can continually experience a time of rich spiritual growth and renewal. — Charles Stanley
Amen. The truth is, we often want the “clear direction” or the “next step” in our walk of faith without doing the heart-work of that first step: cleansing, or what I think of as actual, real repentance.
Despite our desire for a new life in Christ, unless we give up our own worldly ways for the Lord’s ways, we won’t experience the fullness of our new lives in Christ and will remain stuck in the patterns that fill us with regret, guilt, shame, and frustration.
The sin and unrighteousness that we were used to living in before we put our faith in Jesus don’t just cause negative circumstances and affect our moods; they disrupt the harmony of our relationship with God and cloud our judgment.
They make it impossible to see the narrow path clearly because we’re trying to navigate through the fog of our own making, living a double-minded life—where our hearts are divided between wanting to follow God and wanting to satisfy our flesh and remain where we are, even though we know that our old ways aren’t right.
We have to be willing to stop and ask the Lord, “Do You see anything in my life that is interfering with my becoming who You made me to be? Can You help me to see things Your way? Can You help me to change?”
It’s a humble question, and it’s one we might have to ask every single day. But that is how we grow—by seeking the light and turning away from the darkness.
We get our strength and wisdom from living in the presence of God and living according to His wisdom and ways, but we have to keep choosing to walk by faith.
Our walk with the Lord is continuous and progressive. So today, I encourage you to choose the narrow path. Don’t wander blindly and don’t try to power through the fog in your own strength. If there is a habit or an attitude you’ve been holding onto that you know is hindering your walk, confess it. God has already paid the price to set you free, so don’t live like a captive.
Remember, our walk is about progress, not perfection. Lean into the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit and move forward with the confidence that He is guiding you into all truth. When your heart is clear, your path will be too.
Keep on walking and talking with God.
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