What does it mean to follow God’s own leading rather than our own? How do we know if our action is God-led or man-led? Where do we even start?
Earlier on the other day, I decided to set aside some time to write a post, not knowing what topic to write. So I grabbed a cup of water, set up my laptop, and sat down ready to type.
Then I sat there staring at a blank Word document… and nothing was coming to my mind. I waited a little bit.
And… still nothing.
So I took out my personal journal containing small tidbits of anything related to God (my own walk with Him, shortcomings, concerns, what I’ve learned, etc…) I looked through them, and it was refreshing to look back on what I’ve learned so far. I thought that might help jog my mind but then I looked back to a blank Word document again and was still getting nothing to my mind.
So I’ve concluded that it wasn’t the time to write a posting. I said something along the line of, “Okay God, I will wait then.” I realized that I was attempting to do this by my own leading, by my own predefined schedule. That’s not how it works with Holy Spirit!
Then later in the day, as I was busy fixing up my dinner and formulating an email to my brother in Christ, God chose at that moment to show me something simple but yet profound. Everything clicked in my head with earlier attempt and experiences in the past. I did find the timing to be funny (as in how God’s timing just happen to fall in a timing I wouldn’t choose) so I had to stop momentarily to collect my thoughts. I realized my experience earlier that day was a lesson by itself! God was showing me, in a very simple manner as my mind could understand it, that I was to follow by His leading, not my own leading. Despite how simple the lesson seems, it has a very powerful implication for the believers and those who profess Christ as their savior.
What God showed me in my heart, was the modern day churches I’ve experienced and read about, how man tries so hard to build effective programs that reaches out to people in order to increase their attendance. Many try to apply business model or man-made thinking to their churches, thinking that it will help further God’s kingdom, or in some cases their own man-made kingdom. Out of what I’ve experienced at churches throughout my lives, I never sensed or felt much of God’s leading in there. Everything seemed to be planned by man – one or two hour of church service at specific time with preplanned agenda (scripture reading at specific time, pre-planned prayer for you to cite, etc…) Even while growing up, that aspect always felt strange to me, as if I was being given a set of script to follow rather than trying to seek God and discover Him for myself. Looking back on this, I realized this hindered and constrained my spiritual growth and relationship with God. It took someone special to encourage me to seek God for myself and realize the inherent God-given gift I had within me all along.
Modern day churches are typically so busy and concerned with following their own man-made agenda, that they lose sight of whom they should really be following – their very own Creator! In doing so, they lose sight of what it really means to follow God and natural thinking increases as thinking in the Holy Spirit decreases. What happens is that people in man-made institution becomes so used to thinking in the natural and begin to view supernatural as strange occurrence (such as God leading or encouraging them personally). Folks like that think that God’s personal involvement or miracle *doesn’t* apply to them or *doesn’t* happen anymore in present-day. They think it’s strange that God would speak personally in their lives. But this kind of thinking reveals their lack of faith in what God are capable of. If you’re one of them, please don’t be alarmed or discouraged! Perhaps, the Holy Spirit is convicting you in this area and hopefully to provoke you to shift your focus toward God so you can start thinking in the Holy Spirit and seeing things from God’s perspective! God is very loving and patient, He desires that all come to Him. He awaits you with His arm wide open!
So that brings us back to this question – how do we go on with being led by the Holy Spirit?? Remember what I wrote about *striving* to attain by our own hand. We cannot *strive* to make Holy Spirit do something. Each person is different and God has a different way of helping each person. I believe if you truly want to be led by the Holy Spirit then ask God for His wisdom and His leading then He’ll help you along the way! Then believe it with all of your heart! After that, just relax and keep an eye on situations, circumstances, people, writings, or anything that might reveal God’s wisdom/leading in your life. He has a wonderful Divine plan for each of you, intricately designed and tailored to each unique individual. Will you come and follow Him? He only wants the best for each of you!
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