RE:CALCULATINGنمونہ

Day 2: The Importance of Learning to Listen to the Holy Spirit

Imagine 30 million people making their way into a single city—that’s the scene every morning in Moscow, Russia, with cars, buses, and railcars all converging into one region. With a commute like this, GPS technology becomes invaluable, not only pointing out the fastest routes but also alerting us to avoid accidents.

Similarly, the Holy Spirit functions as our internal GPS, guiding our lives. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” If we learn to recognize and listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we can avoid many of the accidents others run into in life. Even if we make mistakes and become derailed from our destiny, the Spirit will recalculate our route and get us back on track in no time if we listen and obey Him.

Just hours before He was brutally beaten and crucified on the Cross, Jesus spoke candidly with His disciples, giving them vital information they would need to carry and pass along after He was gone. John records His final words in great detail in the book of John. Chapters 14, 15, and 16 capture Jesus’ words about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In these three chapters, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of Truth” three times. He is not called the Spirit of error, the Spirit of deception, or the Spirit of dishonesty! The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, which lets us know He can be completely trusted.

In John 16:13, Jesus declared, “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth….” In the last lesson, we saw that the word “guide” is the Greek word hodegos, which is taken from the word hodas, the term for a road. When hodas becomes hodegos, it describes one who knows all the roads. It is the Greek for a tour guide—one who shows a traveler the safest course through an unknown country. Thus, the Holy Spirit is a guide who knows the safest, fastest, and most pleasurable routes to take.

It is no accident that Jesus chose the word hodegos to describe the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the greatest tour guide you will ever have because He has already seen your future and the path that will take you there. He knows all the roads, the best routes to take, and the roads you need to avoid. Instead of trying to figure out where you should go and how you should get there, God wants you to listen to the voice of His Spirit and allow Him to lead you safely and quickly to where you need to go. He will take you on the most exciting, enjoyable journey through life!

We often face challenges because we assume we know God’s will without seeking His guidance. King David was no stranger to the consequences of self-guided decisions. This is reflected in his plea in Psalm 19:13, “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.” By seeking God’s direction from the outset, we can avoid the troubles of relying solely on our understanding.

Friend, the Holy Spirit is your personal tour guide, meaning He has already been to and seen your future. He knows everything that will happen ahead of you and what the enemy will do to try to steal, kill, and destroy the good things God has planned for your life. If you listen to the Spirit, He will guide you to be in the right place at the right time.

There will be times when the Holy Spirit leads you in your heart, but it won’t make sense to your mind. In those moments, you must choose to obey His gentle tug and turn a deaf ear to the reasoning in your mind. Sometimes, you can sense you need to be in a certain place or do a specific thing, and once you act on what you felt the Lord was asking you to do, nothing seems to come of it! When this happens, you will probably think, I thought for sure the Holy Spirit was leading me to do this, but I don’t see why! Nothing happened so I guess I must have missed Him.

But the truth is, your obedience may very well have stopped a significant attack that the enemy had planned against you from happening! Only eternity will tell for sure what you avoided by listening to the leading of the Spirit. Remember that just because “nothing happened” in the natural doesn’t mean you missed the voice of the Lord!

Questions to Consider:

1. Suppose a friend you’ve been praying for has just embraced salvation and made Jesus the Lord of their life. Based on your understanding of the Holy Spirit, how would you describe the Holy Spirit as their “tour guide?”
2. How would you explain what it means to be “led by the Spirit?”