For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Romans 8:14
As a believer, it is essential that you are led by the Spirit of God. You know that you belong to God as you are led by His spirit.
The voice you praise, the instruction you follow, and the love you behold determine the source of your leadership.
Psalm 16, Psalm 36, Romans 14-15 and Ephesians 2 will assist us in seeing this progression more beneficially.
King David wrote Psalm 36 and noted three characteristics of an ungodly person. The person who did not belong to God and was not led by the Spirit, did three things:
- Spoke transgression within his heart. His mind was full of failure and falsehood. The ungodly was deceived because he complimented and persuaded himself his path was “fine”. His heart judged him to be “ok”.
- Saw no place to reverence or honor God. Chose not to respect God, or honor Him. His concentration was on himself and following his thoughts. He held himself up in the place of honor. Therefore, without knowledge, he walked in agreement with death because he chose not to reject it.
- Stopped understanding how to be truthful and do right. He was continually deceived and performed evil. The road of evil is where his feet walked and planted themselves. He found evil because that was the road on which he was stepping.
In Contrast, Psalm 16 describes a person who is delivered from death. This godly person who belonged to God did these three things:
- Praised God’s Word that provided him counsel. Spoke God’s word in his heart. Truth dominated the testimony of his inward thoughts.
- Purposed to see God as the prevailing view of his life. The godly person follows the direction of God and His ways in all the decisions of life.
- Puts trust in God – finding a good place. The portion of life is pleasant and good both now and forever.
What does this mean for you? How do these list of characteristics influence you? Is there anything you can learn and implement to make certain you are led by the Spirit.
We find three key aspects to the godly person. They have faith, they follow, and they find.
The godly person has faith. This person praises God’s Word. Their listening ear is attentive to the voice of God. They talk to themselves regularly all the Words of God. They do not listen to their own heart and their own folly. Instead, the godly person hears the word of God, meditates on it, treasures it, and rehearses it regularly within their mind, will, and inner intention.
The godly person follows. The path of life for the godly person is walking step by step with God – loving good, departing from evil. One of the “problems” with the ungodly person is he does not despise evil. Be sure to know being on the path that is led by the Spirit of God, you must hate evil and cling to what is good and right.
The godly person finds. Setting the Lord ever before Him, he finds God’s direction, path, and pleasure in all that he does. He always seeks to please the leader, the Spirit, and stay on the narrow way that leads to life. The godly person lets God illumine his path and ensures all his steps are in agreement with God.
WHERE CAN YOU BEGIN OR RENEW THIS LEADERSHIP IN YOUR LIFE?
Faith, following, and finding are only possible as you have a personal knowledge of God. As you “know” Him, then you are in receipt of the lovingkindness of God. It requires the lovingkindness of God for you to have faith, follow, and find. It requires God’s initiation to provide you the leadership in your life so that you can belong to Him and be led by His Spirit.
You can praise God through Christ Jesus because you were once far away from this way of life, and this leadership of the Spirit. You have now been brought close to God and His path because of His lovingkindness. It was God’s grace (favor, kind-intention) toward you that while you were dead (no spirit leading you or in you), you were rescued. This was a rescue of significant proportion. The path you were on was misery, death, and disaster. Because of faith (God’s spoken Word and the persuasion of its accuracy) you were joined to God. You now belong to Him and are led by the Spirit.
It was nothing in you or because of anything you did that enabled you to be rescued by God. It was God’s working of His will in your life. There is no boasting of your works. Your rescue (and continual keeping) was God’s making and doing. It was all of God. If there was any effort on your part, your salvation would no longer be of grace.
Now that you have been rescued and given faith (persuasion to believe God), continue on with faith, follow, and find. Always think and do what God approves, submitting to Him from the heart. Follow after godliness and peace trying never to offend God. Always being concerned about others. Being strong in the strength of God. Letting the joy of the Lord be your strength. It is the Word of God that initiates His strength and joy.
Keep these four characteristics of God in your thinking regularly:
- Lovingkindness – good intention – consider its extent and reach toward you to be beyond the heavens
- Faithfulness – loyal love – consider its depth to be as high as the sky.
- Righteousness – God’s approval – consider it very stable and great like a huge mountain.
- Judgment – decisive, cutting ability – consider it vast like the sea
The goodness of God is precious, valuable, desirable, and of much cost to those who have experienced it. It is available in abundance as you see God’s outstretched arm and strong hand making Himself available to you to lead you. The delight of the pleasures of God constantly and forever quenches your thirst. You have eternal life and pleasures as you continue to find the path of life.
You can pray like David, keep Your goodness/kindness flowing to me. I acknowledge You, keep You in my heart, speak of You often, follow after You with all that is within me, and find You to be well-pleasing to me. Keep me from the path of pride that considers my ways better than yours and the hand of evil that pushes my way as of importance over your way.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD?
The sons of God will belong in His kingdom. Those who are not sons of God will perish outside. You must strive to enter the kingdom of God at the narrow gate. You need to have tunnel vision for God. By Faith (God’s persuasion in His Word) follow God in all areas of life, and find life forever in the Kingdom of God.
Put yourself in the position to hear, see and find the Lord. True pleasure cannot exist in any other means than being led by the Spirit.
Written By: Anne Gurley
Thank you for life and peace ministries. I look forward to getting it each week. . It always speaks to my heart It renews and refreshes the heart and soul. Each time there is more eye opening and soul searching that begins to stir the heart and puts that hunger in the heart as never before. “The peace that passes all understanding”.
Praise God for His Work in your life and encouragement to you from His Word. May your heart be filled with God more and more as you hunger and thirst for Him and His righteousness.