Last week, we were inspired to share “Letting the Holy Spirit Lead You.” Being guided by the Spirit is a pivotal aspect of spiritual life, and it should be as important to us as the air we breathe; it’s that crucial. Through the Apostle Paul, God tells us in Romans 8:6-8(NLT), “6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.” This passage very clearly demonstrates that when it comes to control over our lives, we must surrender to the Holy Spirit that indwells us. Verse 8 says that our old sinful nature—the way we used to act, think, speak, and behave—is hostile to God. The flesh wants to go against what God wants, but the Holy Spirit that indwells us desires to lead us to peace. The Spirit wants to please God, and when we allow him to lead us, that’s exactly what we do; we please God!
The truth is that a Christian cannot accomplish all that God has called him or her to do without the leadership of the Holy Spirit. It is impossible to live a successful Christian life without intimately knowing him and allowing his power to be at work in your life. As we grow in our relationships with God through the Spirit, we begin to understand what a friend, comforter, help, and teacher the indwelling Holy Spirit is. We will also become aware that we have a destiny in Christ that far exceeds anything we can imagine. Things like purpose and pleasing God begin to resonate deeply in our hearts, and a desire to be more like Christ will come through with greater clarity.
Again, one of the functions of the Spirit is to teach us. Jesus Christ said in John 14:26 (NLT), “but when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.” Each of us has been given a race to run by Heavenly Father. No one can do what you do the way that you do it. Your race is different from my race, and vice versa. We’ve each been given a purpose to carry forth for the Kingdom of God, and He has also given us the talent, skills, and ability to accomplish what we’ve been called to do. You may not know all the details regarding your purpose, but the Spirit knows. As you read and study God’s Word, you will increase spiritually, and you will be able to discern the Spirit’s guidance with greater proficiency.
A piece of wisdom that has helped me a lot in my life is to understand that a person cannot grow beyond what they know, so if we are limited in our knowledge, we are going to be limited in life. God tells us in His Word many times that He doesn’t want His people to be ignorant. Ignorance is darkness, and darkness is the realm that belongs to the devil. The devil wants to keep us living beneath our privilege, and one of the ways that he accomplishes this is to try and distract or bombard us with other things. By doing this, he manages to decrease the amount of time we meditate on God and learn about Him.
Psalms 1:1-2(NLT) says, “1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night.” Whatever we focus on grows. We can’t focus on God if we’re distracted and concentrating on other things all the time. This is why it’s pivotal to let the Holy Spirit control our minds by reading God’s Word and thinking good thoughts. It allows him to teach us the secret things of God and give us a greater understanding and enlightenment about the Word, and about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
John 16:13 tells us that Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. He doesn’t speak on his own, but he tells us what he has heard from Jesus Christ about our futures. This is incredible information! It’s huge! People will trade their souls to the devil in order to know what is going to happen in their futures. They want to have control, and they go to all kinds of people that represent the kingdom of darkness to get information. Jesus Christ is our Lord! He is the head of our lives. He knows where we are supposed to be, when we’re supposed to be there, and he knows how to get us there. In Matthew 7:7(NLT), he said, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Jesus Christ is teaching us that the way to access information from the Kingdom is to go to the Source, and allow Him to lead you through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
2Corinthians 5:7 (KJV) tells us, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” This is our manifesto. It’s the creed and ethos that we live by. We walk by faith! We don’t have to know all the details of where we’re going. Our mission is to move under the leadership of the Holy Spirit as we receive his directives. This is a different way to move that what we’re accustomed to. We’re used to walking in the flesh. We like the control it offers, because it puts us in the driver’s seat, but that seat belongs to Christ. We gave it to him when we accepted him as Lord.
There are many great men and women in the bible that are tremendous examples of faith for us. They did not succumb to the devil’s tricks, but kept their eyes stayed on the Father. They understood that God is faithful to His promises, and they followed the Holy Spirit’s lead. They ran their race with patience and endurance; we must do the same. Hebrews 12:1(NLT) tells us,“ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Endurance demands that you don’t lose momentum and stamina by looking at someone else’s race. Focus on the race God has purposed you to run. It’s not always going to be comfortable, and you may get a little weary from time to time, but keep trusting in God, and know that the indwelling Holy Spirit will guide you to the finish line.■
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“Run Your Race!” written by JMack. 4theChristianMan.Com© 2017. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.