With a show of hands, how many of you wish you could know exactly what God wants you to do?
Well, I can’t see your hands, but I’m pretty confident 100% of you raised them. How do I know that? Because every person I’ve ever talked with, counseled, or ministered to, has told me so. And I’m with you! But as much as we wish God would call us on the phone, send a text, or write His plan for our lives on a billboard, this is not how He leads us.
But don’t fret! YOU CAN BE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD. He made a promise a long time ago: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (2 Corinthians 6:16, Leviticus 26:2). In other words, God is not an absentee-father.
The bigger problem lies within us. Let me ask you, which is most dominant? Are you:
- Self-Conscious?
- People-Conscious?
- Devil-Conscious?
- Time-Conscious?
- Unconscious?
- OR GOD-CONSCIOUS?
The only way to be led by the Spirit of God is to first be aware that He is always with you. Distraction is a huge tool of the enemy. If he can get you focused on anything else but God, he’s got you whooped! But here are 3 specific ways to keep your focus on God and be led by His Spirit:
Trust His Word
I’ve counseled with people and said things like, “God’s Word says (such and such)…” and they will respond with, “I know, but…” And then they proceed to tell me how their feelings are greater than God’s Word. They don’t specifically say that, but anytime we use the word “but” in a sentence, we’ve just cancelled out anything that was said prior, allowing the next thing we say to override it. Don’t do this. TRUST GOD’S WORD.
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11).
Remember God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:7). If His Word says it, you need to trust it. How can the Spirit of God lead you if you don’t even trust the instruction? This must come first.
Listen
The second thing you must do is listen. This may sound simple, but obviously we don’t do this or else we wouldn’t need to be reminded. Here’s a good confession to make regularly: “I know the voice of the Good Shepherd and no other voice do I follow all the days of my life.”
Jesus said the sheep (that’s you and me) follow Him and we know His voice (John 10:4). But listen to what He said next: “Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, for they do not know the voice of strangers” (verse 5). Notice He didn’t say we wouldn’t hear the voice of the stranger– He said we wouldn’t follow the voice of a stranger.
In other words, we’re going to hear many voices, but if we’ll trust His Word and listen, we’ll hear the voice of God leading us. But one thing to note: If you still think you can’t hear Him, then either you’re not a sheep or you’re not listening, because (again) God can’t lie. He said His sheep hear His voice.
Follow the Peace
So HOW do we hear? The number one way God speaks to any of us is through peace. One of my favorite examples of this is in the Book of Luke. Notice what he said in his opening: “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us… it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account…” (Luke 1:1,3).
Notice he didn’t say God told him to do it. He said it seemed good to him. And this is still true of us. If God’s Spirit abides within you, trust the peace. If you are going astray, He will “check” you, meaning you’ll feel a resistance within you. But if you’re going in the right direction, you’ll have “peace that passes understanding [by-passes everything your brain thinks] to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
Trust me. You can be led. Begin by putting these truths into practice today! I’m confident you will realize how easy it is to be led by the Spirit. God is for you and has given you and I every tool necessary to succeed in life!
