Rest and War: A Field Guide for the Spiritual LifeSample

It’s interesting; if you look at surveys today, almost everyone will say they want a spiritual element to their life. They want an unseen force to lift them to heights of human existence they cannot reach by their own power. But then this is where the problems begin. What does it mean to be spiritual? And people struggle with that answer. Does it just mean the acknowledgment of an unseen realm? Well, let me give you a simple definition if I could, that I believe is a scriptural one. To truly be spiritual, we need to be rightly related to the spirit of God. That we need the wind of God to blow, to elevate us, where we cannot reach on our own. And so much of what we’ve talked about here we will be powerless to accomplish without the power of God’s spirit working through our lives.

What does it mean to be led by the Spirit? I’ll tell you a couple of ways you can know how the Spirit is leading you: one is he’s consistent with Scripture. He’s consistent with Scripture. Actually, Jesus called him the Spirit of truth (see John 16:13). Paul said that all Scripture is God-breathed (see 2 Timothy 3:16). Do you hear the poetry of that? That the breath of God blew through the authors of this book to inspire them to write these words down. This is literally the breath of God on a page, the spirit of God inspiring the word of God.

So, the spirit of God loves these words.

He’s consistent with the Scripture. He is community driven. The Spirit of God loves the saints of God. You see it in the book of Ephesians where it says that the Spirit of God is taking formerly hostile parties, Jew and Gentile, that were enemies and is knitting them together into a temple in the Spirit to worship the Lord (see Ephesians 2:11–22). And then, it says to be “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3 ESV).

The Spirit loves to unite the saints of God together. He loves to take former enemies and knit them together into a family. How do you know you’re walking with the Spirit? Well, he prioritizes the last two things we’ve discussed in the series. He loves the Scriptures—that you load your mind with thoughts of God. He wants to burst into life our affections for God, and he loves the saints. He wants to knit you together with God’s people, for God’s glory and for your good.

And last, how do you know you’re empowered by the Spirit of God? Well, it’s interesting as Paul goes on to the Galatians he says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law” (5:22–23 ESV). And he says, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (verse 25 ESV).

And I love that statement: “Keep in step with the Spirit.” It carries the idea of, “I need a step-by-step dependence on him to provide me what I can’t do on my own.”

1. How would you describe the way the Holy Spirit works in a person’s life?
2. Why is the Holy Spirit essential for our forgiveness and helping us become more like Jesus?
3. How does becoming familiar with God’s Word help you keep in step with the Spirit and build unity with other believers?