The guidance of the Holy Spirit is vital to the life of believers. “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth,” Jesus said concerning the Holy Spirit (John 16:13, KJV). That means the Holy Spirit and the Word of God go hand in hand. The Word of God is truth (John 17:17). And the Holy Spirit is the one who guides us to walk in the truths of God’s Word.
These two, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, always agree. One will never lead where the other does not.
One might argue that as long as he knows the Word of God, he has all he needs to walk in truth. In other words, why do we also need the Holy Spirit to guide us in the truth? Well, consider this. Have you ever been faced with a situation in which several Scriptures seemed to be applicable to your particular situation? You know anytime you stand on the Word you are standing on good ground. But what is the correct guidance to apply to the situation at hand? This scenario is an example as to why we need the Holy Spirit to help guide us.
I am convinced that oftentimes, the Holy Spirit is “speaking” to us and guiding us, but we fail to hear His “voice.” That means we need to become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
How to Become More Sensitive
To illustrate the importance of the Holy Spirit’s guidance, consider Paul the apostle and Timothy during one of their missionary journeys. At the time they wanted to go, they were forbidden to preach the Word in Asia (Acts 16:6). They also wanted to go to Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit would not allow it (verse 7). Consequently, they ended up not going to those cities at that time.
All of us should be able to relate to this scenario in some way. At times, we may know God’s general will for some aspect of our life. But we don’t know His specific will. It was the will of God, for instance, for Paul to preach to the Gentiles. But it was not His will for him to preach in Asia and Bithynia at the time.
Paul and Timothy could not get this specific guidance from the Word of God. Had they not been sensitive to the Holy Spirit speaking to them, they would have gone where it was not the will of God for them to go at the moment. Sometimes, that will be true of us as well.
The question is how do you become more sensitive to the “voice” of the Holy Spirit? In short, you must live your life more attuned to the Holy Spirit. That means you must focus on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2).
Where your mind is stayed reveals where His heart is focused. “Those who are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit” (Romans 8:5). Moreover, the more you incline your heart and your ears to the things of the Spirit, the more sensitive you will become to His “voice.”
So, what can/will you do to become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit in your life?
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