Divine Guidance
Read it out loud: Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27).
Ponder it prayerfully: There are certain privileges that we as Christians have, one being the ability to be lead and directed by Almighty God through the Holy Spirit. When Jesus departed this earth for the final time, He promised His disciples and us that He wouldn’t leave us to navigate this world by ourselves, but that He would send the Helper, to guide us through this life and enable us fulfill our callings and destinies upon this earth. The Holy Spirit is a lot of things to us as Christians: He is our Helper, our Comforter, our Guide, our Teacher and much more. As blood bought children of The Most High God, we have the Holy Spirit residing in each of us, and as such, we ought not take Him for granted. The Apostle Paul explains in his first letter to the Corinthian Christians that, “no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God…we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God” (1 Cor. 2:10-13).
With this privilege, how is then that many of us as Christians make bad decisions that often lead to a host of problems? Like I’ve written before, it is not that we can’t hear His voice, or that we don’t feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit. We do hear, but sometimes we choose to ignore that prompting, thus grieving the Holy Spirit.
Be a doer (James 1:22): Oftentimes, we ignore His promptings because we don’t understand them, but what if Jesus did the same thing when He was lead to the wilderness to be tempted? The word says, “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit…was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil…” (Luke 4:1-2). What if Jesus had said, “I don’t think so! The wilderness? Uh uh…I’m not doing that!”? His destiny would not have been fulfilled on this earth. After His wilderness experience, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit and His ministry began (Luke 4:14). Jesus had to be obedient even when He didn’t understand and likewise, we must do the same.
Fear is another reason we don’t do exactly as God instructs us: Fear of the unknown, fear of failure. We’ve got to realize that God is a faithful, loving and merciful Father in that even when we make a mistake, doing something that we thought was the Holy Spirit’s prompting, because of the integrity of our hearts and our willingness to be obedient, He will turn that mistake into an opportunity, and work it all out for your good (Romans 8:28).
Many times, our flesh gets in the way of our obedience. For example, you know you should drop that piece of cake you are about to put in your mouth as you’ve already had four pieces and eating more would be a bit over-indulgent but you can’t resist so you devour it. That’s catering to the flesh. Killing the flesh off day by day is a much needed exercise for us as Christians. How do we do this? I heard a preacher once say, “Whatever you starve, you’ll kill”. Begin starving the flesh by being spiritually minded, “for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5). Therefore, instead of eating that piece of cake you know you shouldn’t have, you can exercise self-control (a fruit of the Spirit) and let it go.
Jesus promised that He wouldn’t leave us as orphans on this earth, and He fulfilled that promise in giving us the Divine Guide, the Holy Spirit. He is our divine hearing aid, so to speak, and our direct connection to the voice and will of God. It would therefore be beneficial for us all to pay close attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and be obedient to all that we are being led to do.
Hide it in your heart (Psalm 119:11): Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me. For You are the God of my salvation… (Psalm 25:4-5)
Pray it personally: Heavenly Father, I come before Your throne of grace thanking You for the gift of the Holy Spirit in my life. I thank You for fulfilling Your promise to not leave me alone on this earth, and with the Holy Spirit residing within me, I am comforted and confident that I will always be lead down the right path as Your word promises. I thank You that even when I fall, even when I make a misstep, going in the wrong direction, I will not be utterly cast down but I will be lead back on the right path, and You will use every mistake for my good. I know that when I incline my ear to Your voice, I will hear more clearly and be led according to Your will. I give You all the glory, in Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen!
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