“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
When we are born again into the church of Jesus Christ we receive God’s Holy Spirit as a down payment as proof that God take us into His heaven and give us a new and heavenly body (2 Corinthians 5:1, Ephesians 1:13-14). As Christians we now have The Holy Spirit to lead us, but we also still have our sinful nature that wants its way with our mind and body. We have to choose whether we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us or allow our sinful nature to lead us. This is a spiritual battle every Christian has to go through every second of every day (Galatians 5:17-18). Religious traditions and rules might make us look good in our religious assemblies, but our sinful nature will show up in our sinful everyday life. We only win this spiritual battle by living a life of faith; the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). Godly living proves our faith is real!
God guides us in many different and unique ways. It’s important that we learn to hear the voice of God in the different ways in which He guides us by His Spirit. Sometimes it might be by bringing some unexpected thing across our path. Maybe it slows us down or hinders us from taking a trip. If we go out in the morning to start the car and the battery is dead, or we have a flat tire, what is our response and reaction? Do we get upset? How do we respond to these kinds of things? Is it with disgust and with the attitude that this is a terrible disturbance? We need to get to the office or airport. We were supposed to meet this customer at this particular time and now we’re going to be late. Or maybe it’s too windy and we need to get this work done. How can we be sure that God isn’t speaking to us in these circumstances? Rather than getting upset, perhaps it would be better that we listen and say, “Lord, are You keeping me from some danger? Is this a blessing in disguise?”
“The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26). We have a very limited vision into our future; we don’t know what’s going to happen in the next hour, much less the next day. But God’s vision for our future is perfect; He sees everything that’s going to happen to us. Many times we miss what God is seeking to say to us because we don’t stop at these moments and listen to Him. We might be looking at something as a curse or hindrance, but unbeknown to us, God might be keeping us from a severe accident or danger of some kind. Many times we look at these things as hindrances, and in reality, we should look at them as blessings. God isn’t bound by any particular method in accomplishing His purposes in our lives. It’s so natural for man to try to put God in a box, we tend to think that God is bound by our way of thinking, and that’s wrong thinking. God does His work in our lives in a variety of ways.
God wants to show us that He has ways that we know nothing about. So when these problems come into our lives, we can still trust God to guide us through them. Our plans are not always His plans. Many times God chooses to close the doors on our plans. When God closes a door, then it’s important that we do not try to break it down. If the Spirit doesn’t allow us to do something we want to do or go somewhere we want to go, then it’s best to look for the door that the Lord is opening, rather than trying to kick down the door He has closed. Some people are so determined to do their own will that they ignore all of the warning signs, and they usually find themselves ending up in the ditch. And then they say, “Why would God allow this to happen to me?” We usually end up in trouble when we insist on doing things our own way, rather than seeking His way. “He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe” (Proverbs 28:26).
Jesus said to the church at Philadelphia, “These are the words of Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open” (Revelation 3:7). Someone might say, “How do you know the will of the Lord?” I look for the opportunities that God might be giving to me through open doors. I also read and study the Bible (Romans 12:2; 2 Timothy 3:15-17). If God desires for us to serve Him in a special way He will put His desires in our heart and He will provide a way for it to be done. The Bible says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).
We should never be afraid of God’s will for our life; He will never guide us in the wrong direction (Proverbs 3:5-8). If we end up making a mess of things, it isn’t the Lord leading us that caused it; it was our own self-will that got us into trouble. God will guide you by His Spirit if you will give your life to Him. He will take you through the stormy seas of life and bless you with eternal life. Put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and turn your life over to him. It’s our choice.
