LEARN TO BE LED BY GOD’S SPIRIT

“Let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Gal 5:25 NIV

If the Christian life is about having a personal relationship with God, then God must still speak to us today. But a relationship can’t be built on one-way speeches. First, it requires commitment. Then it requires communication between two people in which each speaks and listens to the other. “You…are controlled…by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you” (Ro 8:9 NIV). That means having Spirit-controlled responses, and making Spirit-led decisions. When you follow God life no longer consists only of that which can be seen, felt or figured out. It includes walking by faith, trusting Him, learning to know His voice and the leadings of His Spirit. Some of us are reluctant to do that because we’ve seen people who claim to be doing it and their approach scares us. So when we sense the Spirit’s leading we doubt it, analyze it, conclude it isn’t logical and don’t pay attention to it. Some of us want to obey the Spirit, but we’re not sure we know that He’s really speaking to us. We wonder, “Is this God’s voice or my own desires?” We’ve all experienced this; it’s a normal part of the Christian life. This is why Paul writes, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Spiritual guidance is learned—one step at a time. Even the most mature believer will stumble and get it wrong at times. No problem: “The Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand” (Ps 37:23-24 NIV).

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