The Leading of the Holy Spirit

“…He will guide you into all truth… and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13)

Glory to God! Though we live in difficult times, isn’t it wonderful that we have a supernatural counselor, a guide, a comforter! (John 14:26) The world longs after these things, and that’s why there are psychics and soothsayers everywhere, but we have the benefit of being led by the Holy Spirit! And He tells us the truth! (Romans 8:14) Just as God led the children of Israel through the wilderness wherein there were “fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought” (Deuteronomy 8:15), our covenant with God is our protection from the destruction and misery that is in the world! Glory be to God forever and ever! (Psalm 74:20)

“Well, I don’t know if I hear God’s voice!” Yes you do! If you are a child of God, then Jesus said that you will hear his voice (John 10:27). The prophet Samuel, when he was a child, heard the voice of God, but didn’t recognize it as God. He thought it was Eli, the priest! God had to call him four times until Samuel finally said, “Speak Lord, for your servant heareth…” (I Samuel 3:1-10). But God persisted until Samuel heard. Many times God is speaking and we are either on a “different frequency,” or we’re not listening, but through practice, and spending time ministering unto the Lord, we can be fine tuned to hear.

God longs to have constant fellowship with us, and though there are secret things that do belong only to the Father (like the exact moment of Jesus’ return) (Deuteronomy 29:29, Mark 13:32, Acts 1:7), we are no longer servants, but sons and daughters, and all things that the Father has shown the Son, He longs to share with us also! (John 15:15) Some things, however, He cannot explain to us at the moment, and we simply have to trust Him.

Jesus had a close friend named Lazarus, but when he (Lazarus) was in trouble, Jesus seemingly ignored him. Instead of running to his side, he stayed right where He was for two whole days (John 11:6), and didn’t even pray for him! When he finally did show up on the scene, he was four days “late” (Lazarus had been dead for four days). Then Mary, Lazarus’ sister, cried out to Jesus, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died!” (John 11:32) She blamed Jesus, and accused Him of negligence, but God had other plans (John 11:43-44).

Jesus obeyed the Father in all things; what He heard the Father say and do is what He said and did (John 5:30). Many things, if not most of what Jesus did, did not make much sense to His disciples, and even to His own family. In fact, at one point, his family had thought he had simply lost his mind, and attempted to silence Him! (Mark 3:21) But Jesus had a divine purpose to fulfill, and it could only be accomplished through the Spirit.

David was a mighty man of war, a warrior, but he was also a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22). He had learned to listen to God when he was a young boy tending his Father’s sheep, and God
would give him strategies, and he would defeat his enemies every time. David walked in a relationship with God, not a formula; when a nearly identical situation would arise, David would still seek the counsel of God, and would not presume that the solution would be the same as it was the previous time (II Samuel 5:18-25). When the economy turned bad, David sought the Lord, and God revealed to him the root of the problem, and that it was a direct result of something that King Saul, his predecessor had done to bring a curse upon the land. God gave him instruction, and showed him how to reverse the curse (II Samuel 21:1).

King Saul lost the kingdom because of presumption and disobedience. He was the opposite of King David, for he was “self-reliant,” and disobeyed the prophetic voice, and instead obeyed his own reasoning and the opinions of the people (I Samuel 15:18-23).

The world is beginning to experience what Jesus referred to as the distress of nations, and perplexity (Luke 21:25, Psalms 2:1-6). World leaders and the masses are searching for answers, but they are not going to God, and because of this they are spiraling further into darkness and confusion. But it shall not be so with us; we can trust the leading of the Holy Spirit! Satan works in the sense realm; he operates in the arena of logic and reason, and the area of natural circumstances which he can manipulate. Let us keep our eyes fixed on the Lord, and He will direct our steps (Proverbs 3:6).