Would you agree that God knows everything? If that’s the case, then it seems like He could answer every question you ever had about life, and help you win every time. Which He can!
So when we talk about being led by the Holy Spirit of God, we’re talking about seeking God for His direction in every area of life: having answers, making the right decisions and being the most effective in everything we do. No more wondering or wavering or frustration.
I want that—how about you?
To be led by the Spirit of God in your daily life, first you must know that He wants to lead you. You must believe that He’s always wanted to lead and help His people: In fact, you were designed to be led by Him.
Before you were even born, God had a blueprint for your life. In Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB), it says: “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'” There is a plan for your life, and it’s a good plan. He knows what it is, and He wants to get it to you. He wants to lead you. You can hear His voice!
Ephesians 2:10 (MEV) says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them.” God created you to do good things! And He wants you to be doing them, even more than you want to.
He has promised to lead you into them when you seek and obey Him. There are many scriptures that promise God’s direction—meditate on these to feed your faith: Isaiah 48:17, Psalm 32:8, Psalm 37:23, Psalm 48:14, John 16:13, Romans 8:14 and John 10:4-5.
Isaiah 42:16 is one of my favorites: “I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do for them, and not forsake them.” That’s good news.
Asking God’s direction and being led by His Spirit is so worth it! There’s just nothing better than being in the center of God’s will for your life. His plan is always the best plan! One very important key to being led by the Spirit is: Determine to be led by God and nothing else. Now, that may sound like a no-brainer, but let’s face it—we’ve all been led by other things. We’ve let things like money, circumstances, pressure and outside opinions make decisions for us.
Instead of being led by those things, we must look to the inside where the Spirit of God lives big in us. Proverbs 20:27 says our spirit is the light that shows us the way. That means, instead of making a pro/con list or reasoning things out on your own, you determine to seek God until you understand what He wants you to do.
When you are led by things on the outside, you’re relying exclusively on your own natural senses and ideas to lead you. You’re trying to make decisions and go in a direction on your own.
Compare this with Proverbs 3:5-6, which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (emphasis mine). I like the way The Message Version says it: “Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all.”
Our human understanding is so limited. But God knows everything. Yes, He gave you a brain and He wants you to use it; but sometimes His leading and the so-called logical direction don’t match. Always go with His direction. You don’t want to rely only on your understanding because you just don’t know everything you need to know.
Say this today: “I am led by God’s Spirit. I believe I received His leading and guidance in every situation.” {eoa}
Karen Jensen Salisbury has been in ministry over 30 years. Formerly a lead pastor, then an instructor at Rhema Bible College, she is currently an itinerant minister and author of several books. Connect with her on her website, karenjensen.org, and on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
This article originally appeared at karenjensen.org.
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