Divine Direction: Experience the Power of Looking in the Right Direction

By Dr. Chinyere Almona

• Do you ever feel a lack of direction in your life?
• Are you sometimes troubled by your past?
• Have you ever felt you were moving in the right direction and later realized that you were wrong?
• Could God be leading you in directions that you would not usually seek?
• Do you desire greater intimacy with God?

If you answered “Yes” to any of the above questions, the Lord invites you to experience the power of looking in the right direction.

Looking is a simple but crucial act. Just one look can change your life – both positively and negatively. The direction toward which you look is as important as are the reasons for looking. Dr. Almona uses her proprietary Five-Way-Directional Model© to show you how to live a happier and more purposeful life as you practice looking in the right direction for the right reasons by the Holy Spirit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664157194

Dr. Chinyere Almona

Dr. Chinyere Almona is a versatile inspirational speaker and dynamic Bible teacher; her overarching purpose is to inspire people to love and live by the Word of God. She is also the author of five other books. She has been involved in active ministerial work for over twenty-eight years. She is passionate about leadership and people development. In her spare time, she provides guidance and counseling for women, youths, and teenagers. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria where she serves alongside her husband, Pastor Obi Almona, at RCCG New Dawn Parish, Surulere. They are blessed with three very amazing children.

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Copyright © 2021 by Dr. Chinyere Almona.

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without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The Holy Bible: International Standard Version. Release 2.0, Build 2015.02.09. Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.

All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 02/16/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgment

Foreword

Epigraph

Preface

Introduction

Looking in the Right Direction for the Right Reason

When God Points in a Particular Direction

Chapter 1 The Forward Look

A Forward Look Enables Actualization

A Forward Look Strengthens Faith

A Forward Look Provides Proper Perspective

A Forward Look Boosts Hope

A Forward Look Fosters Resilience

Points for Reflection

Chapter 2 The Backward Look

Look Backward and Remember

Look Backward and Learn

Look Backward and Be Thankful

Look Backward and Rejoice

Look Backward and Let Go

Points for Reflection

Chapter 3 The Inward Look

Look Inward and Consider Your Ways

Look Inward and Repent

Look Inward and Guard Your Heart

Look Inward and Discover Your Purpose

Look Inward and Develop Yourself

Points for Reflection

Chapter 4 The Outward Look

Look Outward to Reach Others by Witnessing

Look Outward to Love Others As Commanded

Look Outward to Relate with Others

Look Outward to Help and Serve Others

Look Outward to Collaborate with Others

Points for Reflection

Chapter 5 The Upward Look

Look Upward and Know God

Look Upward and Worship God

Look Upward and Praise God

Look Upward and Pray to God

Look Upward and Live for God

Points for Reflection

Conclusion

Are You Looking in the Right Direction for the Right Reason?

Why Not Partner with God?

Postface

Endnotes

Thank You!

About the Author

Other Books by the Author

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to everyone who, like me, has sought divine

direction, knowing that without God, you would not make

any meaningful headway. May the Lord guide you to look in

the right direction at the right time for the right reasons.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

At different times and in diverse ways, many people played a role in bringing this book, Divine Direction, into reality. Richard Foster, the author of Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, says that books are best written in community. I could not agree more because it has taken a community to write this book, a loving community of family, friends, colleagues, pastors, mentors, and mentees.

I am thankful to all who assisted, inspired, and challenged me, knowingly or unknowingly.

I am grateful to God for the inspiration and unction to put pen to paper and fingers to the keyboard. The outcome humbles me.

FOREWORD

The Power of Looking in the Right Direction

I wasn’t looking for one more thing to do. I was barely keeping up with what I was already doing, and I was not getting to major important projects.

But there it was — an invitation to begin a podcast on my book’s topic When You Love a Prodigal. The thought of producing something every week was overwhelming—I can barely get a blogpost done each week.

I was ready to say No—it was too much.

But I was reading this book, Divine Direction, by Dr. Chinyere Peace Almona. She tells us about the help and hope of the Five-Way Directional Model©. As I pondered my challenging decision, I decided to see if this approach could help me.

Dr. Almona suggests we need to look in different directions as we consider choices we need or want to make. Her five directions to look are forward, backward, inward, outward, and upward. See how this helped me make my decision.

Should I agree to do a weekly podcast?

A look forward: This would undoubtedly enhance the impact of my book. People’s lives would be touched and changed; more prodigals would be redeemed; families would find help and hope.

A look backward: God gave the idea of the book with a promise of multiplied fruitfulness in many lives. Did that include the greater reach from a podcast?

A look inward: Is this message important to me? Oh yes. Did God give me this message? Assuredly. Do I have the capacity to do this? With God’s enabling.

A look outward: Will this be helpful to those who love a prodigal? To those who seek to help a family that is struggling? Even to those wanderers who are making destructive choices? Surely, to all these questions.

A look upward: Lord, is this from You? Will You give me wisdom, creativity, discipline, and time to do this? Will You provide the technical help I need? Will Your Spirit lead me? Should I say Yes?

Do you see that my answer to most of these questions was Yes? Do you understand how these looks helped me to know my answer should be Yes?

No matter the situation you are in, or whether your decisions are ordinary or life-changing, this powerful book will guide you to think clearly, check your motives, recognize your strengths and weaknesses, consider others, and especially hear from God.

And there is so much more help for your big and small choices: personal stories, scriptural guidelines, real examples, practical applications, and thoughtful reflections.

Wherever you are headed in your life, this book will equip you for your journey with wisdom, courage, and persistence. And, most of all, God will guide you and go with you.

What direction are you going?

Judy Douglass

Director of Women’s Resources

Office of the President, Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) Global Ministry

Orlando, Florida. United States

www.JudyDouglass.com

EPIGRAPH

I Leave All Things to God’s Direction

Author: Salomo Franck, 1659–1725

1 I leave all things to God’s direction;

He loves me both in joy and woe.

His will is good, sure His affection;

His tender love is true, I know.

My fortress and my rock is He:

What pleases God, that pleases me.

2 God knows what must be done to save me;

His love for me will never cease.

Upon His hands, He did engrave me

With purest gold of loving grace.

His will supreme must ever be:

What pleases God, that pleases me.

3 My God desires the soul’s salvation;

My soul, He too desires to save.

Therefore, with Christian resignation,

All earthly troubles, I will brave.

His will be done eternally:

What pleases God, that pleases me.

4 My God has all things in His keeping;

He is the ever faithful friend.

He gives me laughter after weeping,

And all His ways in blessings end.

His love endures eternally:

What pleases God, that pleases me.

Source: https://hymnary.org/text/i_leave_all_things_to_gods_direction_he

PREFACE

preface.jpg

This book adopts and adapts my proprietary Five-Way-Directional Model©. It provides a guide for Christians to focus their attention on what matters at each point in their lives.

The Five-Way-Directional Model© was developed for and first introduced at the Fourteenth Workshop on Corporate Governance organized by the European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management in Brussels, Belgium, in November 2017. My only plan at the time was to make the model known within the field of management science, to help leaders gain diverse perspectives as they look at various scenarios. A fundamental assumption was that leaders would be ready to reposition their companies for growth in the short to medium term based on their directional views. The model provides five directions that a person can look toward: forward, backward, inward, outward, and upward—in no particular order.

The model has taken various forms over the years and has been used in different contexts. I discovered that it is a useful model to apply to our personal lives, not just in the business arena. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic caused global economic devastation, triggering panic worldwide. The epidemic was a great crisis that created fear, anxiety, depression, and discouragement for many. In the heat of the pandemic, I wrote an article encouraging leaders to take their eyes away from the calamity and then purposefully look in these five directions. Doing this may enable them to take specific actions to survive the crisis and stay strong post-crisis. The business community positively received the Five-Way-Directional Model© concept as a leadership tool.

As the global COVID-19 pandemic continued to hold the world hostage, Christians everywhere prayed earnestly for God’s mercy and intervention. Praying to God was a significant and appropriate first step. According to 2 Chronicles 7:14, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land (NIV). Indeed, God is the only One who can cause a turnaround for good. However, how we articulate the situation and what other actions we take would determine how we cope while God works out His divine purpose on earth. The scripture mentioned above, which is God’s word to the Israelites, inherently supports the need for a five-way-directional focus:

-  if my people, who are called by my name (a backward look validates their status as God’s people),

-  will humble themselves and pray and seek my face (praying and seeking God’s face requires an upward look)

-  and turn from their wicked ways (the inward look helps people acknowledge their sins and repent),

-  then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land (an outward look considers the plight of others in the land).

-  This scripture’s overall intention is to transform a bad situation; therefore, there must be an envisioned state, which is the forward look.

The Five-Way-Directional Model© helps you focus your attention on what matters in the moment of a crisis and more broadly in life.

INTRODUCTION

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-  Do you ever feel a lack of direction in your life?

-  Do you sometimes have difficulty focusing?

-  Do you ever struggle with knowing why you are doing certain things?

-  Have you ever felt that you were moving in the right direction and later realized that you were wrong?

-  Is your life passing through a time of haziness?

-  Could God be leading you into directions that you would not usually seek?

-  Have you not seen the vision that you thought God gave you fulfilled?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you are reading the right book.

I must admit that I sometimes feel directionless and unfocused, and I doubt that I am the only one who feels this way from time to time. We all need a heightened sense of direction from the Lord. The reality is that everyone needs guidance from God to fulfill their destiny. Finding and looking in the right direction with the right intention is critical in our relationship with God and for our journey here on earth.

God is continuously pointing us in different directions at different times for various reasons. If we are alert, we will realize that God’s instructions are reflective of our present situations and are necessary for our move to the next level, season, or phase of life. He promised in Psalms 32:8, "I will instruct you and teach you concerning the path you should walk; I will direct you with my eye" (ISV).

My earnest prayer is that everyone reading this book will allow God to instruct, guide, and teach them concerning the path they should walk. If God has promised to direct you, you should have the faith to allow your eyes to look in the right direction.

Looking in the Right Direction for the Right Reason

Looking is a simple but essential act. The eyes are the main gate leading to our minds, imaginations, and hearts. Just one look can be powerful and life-changing—both positively and negatively. The direction toward which you look is as important as the reasons for looking.

1.  Looking forward requires a look into the future with faith in God.

2.  Looking backward requires looking into past events with an attitude of gratitude to God and sometimes provides a learning opportunity.

3.  Looking inward requires a reflective assessment of oneself and being repentant if necessary.

4.  Looking outward requires considering those in your community and within your sphere of influence.

5.  Looking upward requires focusing on God in adoration and worship.

I am intrigued by examples in the Bible that corroborate elements of the model. These biblical cases also show the significance of looking in the right direction for the right reasons.