“Under HIS Influence – The Holy Spirit” by Pastor Mark Balmer;
8/15-16/09, Message #MB385;
Daily Devotional #5 - “Holy Spirit Guidance”
Preparing the Soil (Introduction):
Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. (Acts 16:6)
I loved Pastor Mark’s visual of the iPhone this weekend.
Our technology today is amazing. Gone are the days of taking a map, pen, and paper. All we need is a small device that fits in our pocket to get directions to anywhere in the world, call anyone we would like, and of course send an email in seconds versus waiting 5 days for a letter to arrive in the mail. Even better, Christ follower, we have a guide that lives in us, and He is the Holy Spirit.
Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth):
Man, without the Holy Spirit, walks through life blindly. As humans we can only see what is in front of us, and if we don’t seek the Lord or don’t have the Lord guiding our lives, we make our decisions based on what we see instead of by faith. That can cause a problem, because we don’t know what is ahead.
Even as Christ followers, we need to use common sense to make decisions at times, but all decisions should be brought before the Lord, because He is all-knowing. He sees things that we can’t, and we need to learn to trust Him. If we truly surrender our lives to Jesus and follow Him, He will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:6).
Sometimes, He has us make a decision that is contrary to our human wisdom. Paul and his companions wanted to do an honorable thing—preach the gospel in Asia. But for whatever reason they were prevented from doing so. We are to walk by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response):
The more I grow in my Christian walk, the more I learn not to question the Lord’s direction in my life. I also am learning that I don’t need to know all the “Why’s,” I just need to obey.
I need to trust that He sees everything that is before me, and, if I listen to Him, He will protect me and guide me in the direction that He wants me to go. I don’t know if Paul ever knew the reason why he was prevented from preaching in Asia at that time, but God did.
The one lesson we need to learn from this portion of Scripture is that we may never know the reason why the Lord would tell us to do or not to do something. Our only responsibility is to obey. We need to know that His plans for us are good and that He will never leave nor forsake us.
Obey the Lord willingly. God loves you!
Cultivating (Additional Reading):
Jeremiah 29:11; Romans 8:9-14; Psalm 32:9
HS
