How to Be Led by the Spirit

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).

One of the greatest benefits of our redemption is the privilege of being led by the Spirit of God. Children of God can be expected to be led by the Spirit of God. One of the greatest needs is to have the wisdom of God to make the right decisions. This comes through being led by the Spirit of God.

Do you think that your life would be much better if you made decisions based on the leading and guidance of the Spirit of God? Proverbs 4:11-12 says, “I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble.”

Wisdom is making decisions today based on knowing what will happen tomorrow. Wisdom will bring many wonderful fruits into your life. It will promote you and bring you honor and advance you in rank, dignity and position. Wisdom will keep you safe from harm or injury. It will help bring desired changes. It will bring the flow of God’s blessings in your life, and it will cause you to see the power of God in your life through the gifts of the Spirit.

All these fruits are borne in your life through wisdom. Wisdom enables you to make decisions based on hindsight rather than foresight. How is this possible? It’s possible because the Spirit of God knows the future, and He wants to let you know the future course you are headed on.

“But when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own authority. But He will speak whatever He hears, and He will tell you things that are to come” (John 16:13).

The Holy Spirit will guide you … and He will tell you what is yet to come. Isn’t that great?

You don’t have to be in the dark concerning your future. The Holy Spirit will guide you based on what is yet to come.

The Holy Spirit uses your spirit.

Let us look once again at Romans 8:14:

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”

How does the Spirit of God lead us? It is one thing to say that the Spirit leads us, it is another thing to know how the Spirit leads us. The following verses tell us how.

“For you have not received the spirit of slavery again to fear. But you have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8 15-16).

Notice that the Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit. The Holy Spirit speaks to our spirit. Our spirit then echoes the voice of the Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit uses our own spirit to lead and guide us. Proverbs 20:27 confirms this:

“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the heart.”

The word candle means lamp. Back in Bible days, a lamp was the instrument used to guide someone along a dark path. The Bible is saying that God uses our spirits to guide us in our lives. Another Scripture backs this up.

“But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding” (Job 32:8).

It is not the mind, which gives man understanding. It is the spirit in a man. You see, Job’s friends used their minds to try to enlighten them regarding Job’s sufferings. They were dead wrong. In this passage Elihu explains the reason they were wrong. He says, “But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.” Not your mind, but your spirit. This is why Solomon wrote, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).

Your own understanding comes from your mind, not your heart. He says to trust in the LORD with all your heart. Your heart is your spirit. Your spirit is the safe guide, not your mind. Your mind can get confused. Your spirit rarely can.

So being led by the Spirit involves two objects or personalities: the Holy Spirit and your own human spirit. It would do well for you to study both the Holy Spirit and your own spirit.

The Holy Spirit

First, let us briefly mention some aspects of the Holy Spirit—how He works, what he likes, what are His concerns. By getting to know Him better helps you understand what He is going to lead you to do.

For example, the Holy Spirit is “holy.” He is not going to lead you to do something unholy. Forget about the Holy Spirit leading you to take someone else’s husband. He won’t do that!