Session 12 · Acts 13:1-3
Guidance
Testing a leading with Scripture and trusted people
Book reading: Chapter 12: Guidance
Most of us want guidance in some form. Should I take the job? End the relationship? Say yes to this ministry? Read Chapter 12 alongside Foster's separately published essay on guidance. Acts 13:1-3 shows a leading at work in a real community.
The church at Antioch had a mixed team of leaders: Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius from North Africa, Manaen, and Saul. That's a varied group in background and temperament. Verse 2 says that while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke: set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work I've called them to. Look at the setting. The leading didn't arrive in the middle of a crisis or a frantic search for an answer. It came while a group was occupied with God, attentive and unhurried.
Then look at what happened next. They didn't act at once. They fasted and prayed again, laid hands on the two men, and sent them off. The group took the leading seriously enough to pray over it and confirm it together. Barnabas and Saul were part of that circle, so they weren't running off on private impressions. It was also costly. Two key leaders were leaving a healthy church, which fits Foster's connection between guidance and the surrender of self-will. A real leading often asks for a willingness to give something up.
Foster's separately published essay on guidance ties guidance to friendship with God and says Christian community and Scripture help clarify a perceived leading rather than leaving impressions unchecked. The Bible echoes this. First Thessalonians 5:19-21 says not to quench the Spirit and also to test everything. First John 4:1 says not to believe every spirit but to test them. Proverbs 11:14 says there's safety in many advisers. In Acts 15:28 the early church describes a decision as seeming good to the Holy Spirit and to them, which shows the Spirit and the community working together.
So what does testing look like in practice? Here are three simple checks. First, Scripture: does this fit what God has already said about his character and his ways? Second, trusted people: who knows you well and loves God, and what do they see? Third, time and fruit: after you've waited and prayed, does the leading still hold, and where does it point you? A leading that requires you to harm someone, lie, or neglect a clear responsibility doesn't pass.
If you read on your own, you may not have a group of prophets and teachers. That's fine. Ask two people you trust, and choose people who will tell you the truth, not just people who agree with you. Share the question, not only your preferred answer.
Guidance in this picture isn't a secret code. It's what happens when a surrendered person, the Bible, and a praying community all listen together.
Key idea
A sense of leading from God becomes safer and clearer when it is surrendered, checked against Scripture, and tested with trusted people before acting.
Questions to consider
- In Acts 13, the leading came while the leaders were worshiping and fasting, and they confirmed it together. What decision in your life needs that kind of unhurried attention?
- Who are two people who know you well, love God, and would speak honestly if you shared a perceived leading? What keeps you from asking them?
Journal prompt
Write down one decision you're facing. Then list what Scripture says that bears on it, who you could ask, and what part of the decision you most want to control.
Practice
1. Write one perceived leading or open decision in a single sentence. 2. Find two Scripture passages that bear on it and note whether they support, caution, or don't speak to it. 3. Share the question with two trusted people within the week and ask what they see. 4. Wait at least three days before acting, unless something urgent requires otherwise.