Day 7: How do you follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit?

It is not enough to be a good question-asker and listener. We must invite the Holy Spirit to guide the conversation. We do this by praying before, during, and after the conversation that the Spirit would give us wisdom and open others’ hearts to Jesus.

The Holy Spirit knows the person better than we ever will. He also knows Jesus perfectly. He will help connect who Jesus is to the person in a specific way. Yesterday, we talked about how to lead a spiritual conversation to the topic of Jesus. With the insight of the Holy Spirit, we can share what characteristics of Jesus best relate to the person we are sharing with. Do they need to know He is forgiving? Loving? A just God who will take vengeance on evil? Do they need to know He will be with them? Do they want to learn their purpose in life? Which of these (or other truths about Jesus) best relate to their needs and longings? If you ask the Spirit to show you, He will. Remember, we are trying to connect them to a person, not just a presentation of the gospel.

If we ask permission to share who Jesus said He was and they aren’t interested, we don’t force the conversation. We leave the rest up to the Holy Spirit to pursue them, unveil their eyes, and grant them a teachable heart. Remember, Jesus saves, the Holy Spirit reveals, and we initiate, listen, learn, love, and lead them to Jesus.

But what do we do when they aren’t interested? You can ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you if some barriers are preventing them from accepting Jesus into their lives. Here are a few obstacles we may come across that we can invite the Holy Spirit to help us as we continue to engage with them.

1. People have a hard time trusting Christians. Our goal must be to become safe people, to show them we love them no matter what they choose to believe, and to respect their views even if they are different. We become safe by being real and vulnerable about our own struggles, pain, and failures.

2. People may not be curious about Jesus or spiritual things. Their curiosity will grow when their personal experience is no longer enough to understand the world. They will then ask questions about life, God, or their purpose.

3. People may not be open to change. Change can be painful and cause loss. They need to question their worldview and how it is broken before they can adopt a new biblical one. Jesus needs to become more compelling than what they may need to surrender.

The Holy Spirit knows these challenges and will help you continue the conversation so that your friends, family, coworkers, and others can continue on their spiritual journey to understanding and receiving Jesus.

Reflect on these questions:

• What other barriers may people have?
• How can you help break down these barriers with people you know?

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to connect Jesus to the person you are talking to. Also, ask the Spirit to show you what barriers the person may still have and how to help them break those down.