You can trust Him
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. John 16:13
When I completely surrendered my life over to God, I wanted to press in so close to Him that I would never make another mistake in my life again. But no matter how hard I tried, I still seem to mess up and follow after my human ways. I came to a point where I thought: “if there was anyway that I could hear from God directly and know what His plan was for my life, certainly then, I would have no more regrets. It was right around that time when I found this verse in John that says the Holy Spirit will tell me things to come. He wants to guide and help me in life by showing me what is up next and how to get there, but it was up to me to learn how to hear His direction and leading on the inside of my heart.
So, I began to learn. Sometimes it was by trial and error, but mostly it was by learning from others who followed the Spirit of God and also pressing in close to Him to recognize when He was prompting and pointing me forward. I haven’t always gotten it right, but I get better at it every day. Half the battle is actually following through when I do sense His direction. Sometime my flesh is tired and doesn’t feel like following, sometimes it doesn’t make sense and I am afraid I will look foolish and other times I am just scared. Most times, I follow through because I have done it enough now that when I do go with Him, He always makes it into such a fulfilling and exhilarating experience. Our Heavenly Father is so wonderful, and He wants to help us and lead us away from things that can trap and harm us. He also wants to lead us to the wonderful plans and things He has planned for our lives. That is why He sent His Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth (His way) and away from darkness (John 16:13).
The first place to start when when you desire to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit is by entering a personal relationship with God by receiving salvation through the blood and sacrifice of Jesus. When you do that, you are now a child of God and part of His family. That is when you come to the point in your life when you recognize that you need a Savior and receive the Lord Jesus into your heart and life as your Lord and Savior.
The next thing to do is to grow your personal relationship with Him through spending time talking to Him (praying) and reading His Word (the Bible) every day. As you begin to align your life with the things He has taught in His Word, you will sense a nudging on the inside that you know lines up with His Word. Things like be kind to others and love one another. If you talk about other people, the Holy Spirit will remind you with a check in your spirit that these are things you know are not pleasing to God by what you have read in His Word. Living your life in agreement with God’s Word will empower you to know what you should be doing and what needs to be eliminated in your daily habits.
Side note: Just because you have accepted Jesus into your life as Lord, doesn’t mean that whatever you are thinking or feeling is from Him. You have to yield to Him and let Him know that you want to follow His planned path and complete the assignments He has for your life. This is the way God wants to lead us, by relationship. If you go through life obeying all the rules you read in the Bible, but never have a personal relationship with God by hearing His direction on the inside, you will probably miss out on things He wants to lead you to through following the leading of His Spirit. The other thing to watch out for is not doing things because you don’t feel like it or because it may not make sense in the natural world. Feelings are fickle and because they can change so quickly, you cannot depend on them to lead your life. Things such as tithing, loving your enemy, or submitting to one another may not make sense to you in the natural, but they are spiritual laws that God has set up to bless you. These are things that require faith and humility and may be uncomfortable at times. However, when you act in faith on the things God leads you to, He will give you the grace to follow through and receive His blessings in response.
Lastly, hearing from God is a step of faith, and the Holy Spirit’s direction will always line up with God’s Word. If you are not sure God is leading you in a direction, ask Him for scripture to back up the prompting you hear on the inside. He will bring it to your thoughts or will lead you to it in your daily reading. I promise you God is not trying to make it hard. He sent us His Holy Spirit to help us have an advantage over the rest of the world and know the things He is leading us to. He is a supernatural helper that lives inside you to empower you to reach the world around you.
Today, I want to encourage you to talk to God about “hearing” from Him or getting a “word” from Him on the inside, so you can begin to learn what His voice sounds like. You can start by saying something like “I love you, God, my Father”. Then sit quietly and wait for a response on the inside and He will tell you. Let Him know that you want to start living your life led by the help and direction of His Spirit inside you. He will begin small, so if you act on it, you will have little risk of being wrong. Write down what you are hearing and review it often to reinforce and remember that He is leading you. God is so good and He has given us a Helper to help us in this life. Don’t ignore His leading, learn His voice on the inside, and He will guide your every step. If you have never received God’s great gift of salvation through Jesus, do that today. Jesus will come into your life and change you from the inside out. Pray this prayer from your heart and you will never be the same:
Pray: God in heaven, I know I’m a sinner and I need a Savior. I want to turn away from my sinful life to the life You have planned for me. Please forgive my sins, cleanse me from my past, and make me new today. I know Your Son, Jesus died for me. I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead. At this very moment, I accept, confess, and proclaim Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior . . . to be Lord of my life from this day forward. I now have a right relationship with God my Father through this salvation in the blood of Jesus. I thank You for giving me Your Holy Spirit to guide me and to empower me to accomplish the things You have planned for my life in Jesus’ name, Amen
Today’s scripture reading: John 16:12-15
12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
The Daily Dose 