Divine guidance often comes in very undramatic shapes. We might draw insight from a biblical story, or admonition or promise. We might see a light shining through from some past personal experience with God, or find new direction by reviewing the path he has brought us thus far. We might obtain guidance through specific research, or by talking with wise and godly counselors, or by reflecting on our holiest persistent desires. The Bible provides examples of God leading his people in all these ways, and it is certainly a trustworthy guide on the subject.
Reliable testimony abounds to the same variety of unusual leading today as well.
I am afraid we often miss much valuable assistance which God willingly provides for daily living, simply because we overlook, ignore, and sometimes actually reject, these various extraordinary ways he tenderly guides those earnestly seeking his immediate, local, temporary, specific counsel and direction. Let us pray for open ears and open eyes, to hear the Shepherd's voice and to see the path he shows. But I am determined not to miss anything he wishes to do for me or to give to me, simply because I did not believe it possible, or wasn't looking, or refused to listen when he spoke. Certainly the Bible is the ultimate source for universal, eternal, general truth. That means that it is a reliable norm, by which all other messages thought to be from God are to be tested and measured.