Hearing GodSample

Day 4 – Follow the Holy Spirit’s Leading
 

The Holy Spirit is God—a divine Being with a mind, emotions, and will. He is always with us and His purposes include interceding for us and giving gifts to benefit the church.

God can also guide us through the promptings of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit desires to fill us and produce in us His fruit. No matter what decisions we’re making day to day, we can’t go wrong when we exhibit love, joy, peace, etc., to the glory of God. When we have a random thought pop into our heads, we must learn to “test the spirits”. Will following this inclination lead to more Christlikeness? Will dwelling on this thought produce more of the fruit of the Spirit in me? The Holy Spirit will never lead us to gratify the sinful desires of the flesh; He will always lead us toward sanctification. Life on earth is a spiritual battle. The enemy is eager to supply diversions to distract us from God’s will. We must be vigilant to ensure that what we heed is more than a feeling but is truly from God Himself.
 

To hear God's voice we must belong to God. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me”. Those who hear God’s voice are those who belong to Him—those who have been saved by His grace through faith in the Lord Jesus. These are the sheep who hear and recognize His voice, because they know Him as their Shepherd. If we are to recognize God’s voice, we must belong to Him. God does not want us to fail. The more we listen to God, the better we will be at distinguishing His voice from the other noises in our heads. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, gives His promise: “He goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice”. Others may speak, “but the sheep [do] not listen to them”. The better we know our Shepherd, the less we have to worry about heeding the wrong voice.