ABC’s of Being Led by the Holy Spirit

God wants to lead you to the abundant life Jesus came to give every believer!

I recommend a short prayer to you

Father, you know the feelings of fear and powerlessness that surface whenever I feel I’m not in control.  Father I pray, in the name of Jesus, that you help me feel safe in trusting you to lead me by the power of your Holy Spirit.

Fellowship with, conversation with, obedience to and reverence for the Holy Spirit is increasingly becoming as natural as breathing to me.  More than 16 years ago, the Holy Spirit began to reveal the nature and character of our Lord Jesus Christ to me.  I’d be a liar if I pretended as though this has been a process free of struggle.  To be quite open and honest, I’ve spent a great deal of that time frustrating the Holy Spirit (thanks for your patience and long suffering Holy Spirit).

I’ve had many conversations with Christians about being led by the Holy Spirit.  I’ve discovered that it’s natural to some, totally uncomfortable and foreign to others and a whole range between the two spectrum.  That said, some time ago, after really desiring to communicate clearly how to be led by the Holy Spirit, I read a few books on the topic, which proved immensely helpful.  However, I noticed a common thread that gave me a reason for pause.  Most of the books I read primarily focused on convincing the reader that giving control over to the Holy Spirit was in their best interest and God’s best for their lives.  While this is absolutely true, what was missing in the books I read, were clear instructions from the Word of God telling the believer exactly how to do go about doing this.

Well, I asked the Holy Spirit to show me how from the Word of God.  I figured, since the Holy Spirit inspired men to write the scripture, the Holy Spirit would know the scripture well enough to show me where I could find what I was looking for.  As usual, the Holy Spirit didn’t disappoint.

This post will focus on a passage of scripture the Holy Spirit has been revealing to me me ever since I asked the question, how do I go about doing this?  This passage of scripture will show you how to go from leading your own life without God’s influence to willingly and progressively giving that control over to the Holy Spirit of God (it most definitely is a process).

Now, I’m not so naive to think it’s as simple as reading a few scriptures and that settles it.  Frankly, because of some horrible decisions I made and quite a few dysfunctional relationships, it took me a while to understand that our Father in heaven actually does love me and wants the absolute best for me.  Our Father in heaven is not like the people that hurt you or I, disappointed you or I, abandoned you or I, etc…

Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you will never result in Him leading you to something ungodly; the destination is always a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Here’s the passage of scripture:

1 My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
9  Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11  discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
14 who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.

16 So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
17 who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
18  for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
19 none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.

20 So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.
Proverbs 2 (English Standard Version)

Make it plain…What do I need to do?

  • My Son – You must be born of the water and the Spirit which releases you from the dominion of Satan and grants you entrance into the Kingdom of God  John 3:5, Colossians 1:13-14.  This simply means, you’ve come to a point that you recognize that you are a sinful person, you need to be saved from your sin and you know you don’t have the power to save yourself.  By the way, the Holy Spirit is the ONLY one on earth that can bring a person to the point where they recognize their own sinfulness and their inability to correct it.  While the Holy Spirit certainly uses men and women to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the righteous conviction that accompanies the message, not condemnation, comes only from the Holy Spirit John 16:8.  Then you accept the person of Jesus Christ as God and savior and you come under the righteous government of God that Jesus is the king of.
  • If You Receive My Words – Please notice that this is conditional.  God NEVER forces anyone to receive the Word of God.  God, with loving kindness, invites us to receive the Word of God because He knows if we receive it, His Word is powerful enough to transform our lives for all eternity.  So we must reach a point where we’re willing to accept what the Word of God says about every matter.  Even if it is totally opposite of what we believe or feel.
  • Treasure Up My Commandments With You – How many of you could rattle of your home or cell phone # without even blinking?  You know why, you’ve memorized it.  Treasuring up the Word of God in your heart simply means that you willingly purpose to remember scripture, just like your phone #.
  • “Making” Your Ear Attentive to Wisdom – Please notice the word “making”.  By default, each one of us, unless we train ourselves otherwise, will be drawn to music, gossip, slander, etc…  Making a choice to balance what you hear with a portion of the Word of God communicates to the Holy Spirit that you want to hear what He has to share.
  • Inclining Your Heart to Understanding – This simply means a willingness to look to the Holy Spirit, the Word of God and the servants of God to gain understanding in every situation no matter how big or small.  The Holy Spirit loves to lead Christians in understanding the Word of God, life situations, decision making, interacting with people, etc…
  • If You Call Out For Insight – Now this is a biggy and it’s conditional.  We really hate feeling like we don’t know how to do something.  However, I want to suggest a different way of looking at it.  If you don’t know something, and you actually say that by asking for help, it’s an opportunity for you to get better at what you do.  This is designed to bring humility and growth.
  • Raise Your Voice for Understanding – This is similar to the one above, with one difference.  The previous passage is primarily done in private or closed quarters.  However, raising your voice means that you openly and publicly proclaim that you don’t understand and you would like to understand.  I’m not saying that you should head to the nearest store a buy a bull horn, but I am saying that if you really want the Holy Spirit to grant you understanding, you really shouldn’t mind saying so.
  • Seek for it Like Silver – Hmmmmm.  If someone said to you, I’m 100% positive that there’s silver under the ground in your backyard, would you hesitate to start the rotating digging schedule with EVERY family member?  Well, God says if we really want to be led by the Holy Spirit, we will aggressively pursue that end.
  • Search for it as Hidden Treasures – Same thought, but gives more clarity to the fact that what you seek will not be found easily.  It’s not that God makes it difficult for us to find Him, it’s that because He loves us, He wants us to mature and be mentally stable along the way.

Promise To’s…

  • You Will Understand the Fear of the Lord – Understanding the Fear of the Lord simply means understanding the correct perspective we should have about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Can I share a secret with you?  Many of the people I know, including myself, were raised on a value system that said “if you do what’s right, I’ll accept you”…”but if you do what’s wrong, I’ll reject you”.  As children, this is how we interpreted the message.  Pile on top of that the fact that we may have not been shown the level of affection needed to help shape us socially and emotionally, and you get a glimpse of why many of us struggle having the proper perspective of a God when we know He straight up killed people in the Old Testament for getting to close to Him.  I’ll share another secret with you.  The same God that killed people in the Old Testament has not changed one bit.  He still demands absolute perfection without ANY margin for error.  That said, this is why step one above is becoming a son of God.  You see, Jesus is the only person that could meet God’s standards.  He being fully God and fully man died and was raised from the dead so that you and I could share in His perfection.  So, God hasn’t changed, but every time you think He’s looking at you each time you and I make a sinful choice, know this, God sees Jesus if you’ve accepted Him as your Lord and savior.
  • and Find the knowledge of God – In Job 28, we see God revealing to Job the fact that godly wisdom is a proper perspective on who God really is and godly understanding is knowing God (the Word of God).  When you allow yourself to be led by the precious Holy Spirit, the days of you not understanding the scripture, and exactly how they apply directly to your personal walk with the Lord Jesus, will be a thing of the past.  You will also find yourself with the power to resist sinful temptations that previously over-powered you.
  • He is a Shield to Those Who Walk in Integrity – As you allow yourself to be more and more led by the Holy Spirit, you’ll begin to recognize that without you doing anything, God is watching over and protecting everything that concerns you.  This doesn’t mean bad things won’t happen, but it does mean they will not succeed in prevailing against you.
  • Guarding the Paths of Justice – God will make sure righteous justice is guarded for the person that allows her or himself to be led by the Holy Spirit.
  • Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path – Do you have trouble knowing the perfect will of God for you in every situation?  When you start down the path of giving control of your life over to the Holy Spirit, you will be amazed at how aware you become of the good path God has already laid before you.

Please read through this passage carefully.  I’ve only listed a few of the promises to be brief.  God loves you and He wants and has already made provision so He can give you His very best.  Will you allow Him to lead you to the place God has prepared for you?

Deliverance From…

  •  Delivering you from the way of evil – The Word of God says, by the Fear of the Lord men depart from evil.  The more you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into learning who God really is, the more you will identify with God and begin to hate what God hates.  This is what causes people to depart from evil.
  • From men of perverted speech – The more you allow yourself to be lead by the Holy Spirit, the less you will be subject to tormenting and ungodly fear of people.  You DO NOT become disrespectful and rude, but you do acquire a new perspective on that fact that NO PERSON is bigger than our God.  You also begin to break free from the damaging influence of evil people in your life or around you.
  • You will be delivered from the forbidden woman – Now this is a REALLY big one men.  According to the Word of God, the more you walk in the How To’s and the Promise To’s…the less likely you are to fall victim to a seductive woman bent on ruining your life and destroying your family.  That does it for me, sign me up!

I encourage you to read through this passage multiple times until the pattern is embedded.  It can be a fearful thing to consider yielding the control of your life to someone you don’t know, can’t see and quite frankly have no reason to trust, other than what others tell you abou tthe Holy Spirit.  However, despite those fearful emotions, I can tell you from experience that you will never be as happy doing it on your own than you’ll be once you give the God that loves you the reigns of your heart.

Be Blessed

I recommend a short prayer to you.

God, you know the trouble I have giving up control and how vulnerable it makes me feel.  I humbly ask that you grant me the power to obey your Holy Word.  I ask in the name of Jesus the Christ.