ICS Daily Devotions
How to Let the Holy Spirit Lead Us
Romans 8:14-16 NKJV For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,”
Many of us are going through great struggles in our current times – the unstable economy, increasing market disruptions in most business sectors, competitive work environment, job losses and so on. For Christians who have put their faith in Christ, we may be faced with impossible situations as well and this is a time when we need to quieten ourselves to spend time in the presence of the Lord through contemplative prayer so we can hear God speak into our struggle.
How we cope in any crisis depends on our lifestyle of faith and fellowship with God. One in which we develop complete trust in God where we step out in faith to be led by the Holy Spirit. We should recognise that there are no conflicts in the work, character and attributes of the Trinity because They are one and are consistent in Their ways. God has good plans and purposes for our lives. He will not harm us. He will not lead us into temptation but will deliver us from evil. He sent His son Jesus Christ to lay down His life for us. He protects us and watches over us as He journeys with us through the Holy Spirit whom He sent as our Helper. He is our good shepherd who can lead us to green pastures and still waters when we are stressed and anxious. This is possible because God is Spirit and He created us as spiritual beings with souls as well as physical bodies and He leads our spirit by the Holy Spirit.
However, there may be hinderances to our spirit being led by the Holy Spirit due to rationalisation, reasoning and scepticism of God’s Word. We also receive much worldly knowledge, live self-centred lives, elevate our reasoning and rationalisation above God’s, fight for our rights and privileges with strong wills, all of which will make listening to and being led by the Holy Spirit difficult.
I Corinthians 2:16 NKJV For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
When we take time to pray and read the Bible, we can know God more and put our faith in Him based on His revelation from His Word and not on our own reasoning or experience. We will experience God as we act on our faith and convictions. His Word renews our minds and we are able to be instructed and be led by Him when we read His word. Unless we make Jesus the absolute Lord of our lives and yield to His prompting through His Word, our minds cannot be renewed to know God’s good and perfect will for our lives, and we will be walking in our own ways like sheep without a shepherd.
Sermon Series: From the Closet to the Board Room
