Growing in HopeSample

The Holy Spirit Leads

In today's passage in Galatians, the Apostle Paul is telling the church in Galatia (and you and me) to “walk by the Spirit.” He is not suggesting that we walk by the Spirit, He is telling us to. When we do, he tells us that we “will not carry out our sinful desires”. Instead, we will be carrying out God’s desires for us. 

The Holy Spirit will only lead you to do what God wants you to do. He will never lead you to do what the world around you or your selfish, sinful nature want you to do. 

The question is how are we to be led by the Holy Spirit?

We are led by the Holy Spirit by listening to Him. Remember, He lives in you, and He will remind you of the things you have learned reading the Bible.

Not only does He remind you of the truths from the Bible, but He will oftentimes tell you to do something specific. It takes time to learn to listen and be led by the Holy Spirit. A good way to start is when you think of someone, pray for them, then call or send them a text. 

Over time, as you learn to pause and listen for Him to speak, you will begin to hear more from the Holy Spirit. He will show you the things in your life that are not pleasing to God. You may have hidden sin or bad habits that are not in line with God. The Holy Spirit will reveal those things to you; He will convict you. He will guide you to what is true and how you should live.

“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” John 16:13

There is a simple rule of thumb to follow when listening for the Holy Spirit. If you believe the Holy Spirit is telling you to do something and it does not contradict the Bible and it is not un-loving, just do it.You must always remember the Holy Spirit will NEVER contradict the Bible! After all, He is the one who wrote it! (We will talk more about this soon!) Here’s a quick example: Jesus commands us to love our neighbor and our enemies. This means the Holy Spirit will not instruct us to do something unloving towards others.  That would be contradicting Jesus’ commands. 

If you do something out of love for someone it is not going to be wrong. Your responsibility, as a follower of Christ, is to be obedient to the Holy Spirit and God’s word. The results are God’s responsibility. As you begin to obey more, you will begin to experience God in your daily life more.

Prayer:
Father, thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me! I pray that You give me greater understanding as I read Your Word. Teach me how to “live by the Spirit” and hear when You are directing me. Help me to get rid of the sin that remains in my life. Help me to walk in complete obedience to You. You are my King. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.