All of us need inspiration to get us through the challenges of this life and to know that God is the wellspring that refreshes our spirits, gives us courage, and guides our footsteps.

Each week the Globe publishes a “Prayer for Willie” taken from a collection by Dr. Hamilton T. Boswell, to remind each of us of the presence of God in our lives, no matter what faith, denomination or interpretation we choose for ourselves.

Gracious God, Good Shepherd of the wandering star,
Whose light makes bright the paths we take and the distance we tread,
Our lives are open before You.
For who else knows, as You know, our dark hours of defeat, the times of doubt and the myriad of secret fears.
You know our halting purposes, our unwillingness to risk and our reluctance to be out front.
You remember our make and that we are of dust.
As we come to You this morning, enter our hearts with the spirit of power.
Confirm our good resolutions to be as hopeful now as when first made, and grant us a new perseverance to follow through.

For information regarding Prayers For Willie, Pathways for Daily Living, please e-mail Eleanor Boswell-Raine at eleanor@theglobenewspapers.com or telephone her at 510-222-5656.

Leadership of yourself

The most challenging, exasperating and just plain difficult person to lead is yourself.
    We are all men and women of good intentions and lofty goals, but so often we come so very short of achieving things we intend to do. The key to our difficulty is that God never purposed for man to lead himself.
    Jeremiah said, “0 Lord, I know that the way of man is nothing himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps,” (Jer.10:23). God understands that our minds are active and that in life there are many choices to make. Therefore, God in His wisdom permits us to make choices while still depending upon Him for divine guidance. Prov. 16:9 says, “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.”
    God allows us to make decisions or choices in life, but we must allow Him to direct our steps concerning these choices. We must be just as happy and contented for God to close a door we wish to walk through, as we would be for Him to open it.
     True leadership of ourselves involves trusting God each dayt on guide our steps in even the smallest decisions. God emphasized this over and over again in His word. He says in one place, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths,” (Prov. 3:5-6). In another place it says, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to past,” (Ps. 37:5). In still another passage we read, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way,” (Ps. 37:23).
    Leadership of oneself involves exploring carefully the decisions before you, making the best choices available to you in the light of God’s word and letting God direct your steps.