There are voices all around us, we have to choose carefully and wisely what we choose to listen to, one of the things we learn as we grow in Christ, is how to differentiate the voice of God over the opinions and voices of people. This is why it is important to establish a quiet place or time with the Lord and diligently seek Him through prayer and the reading of His Word.
I learned this early in my walk, having come from a background where a cult had tried to dissuade me from my family (prior to my coming to Christ). God’s will for your life will ALWAYS line up with His Word. Holy Spirit has been given to those who have made a profession of faith and is our Guide and our Teacher – it is HIS voice that we learn to recognize. It is His that we need to obey. If God has something to say to you be it a Rhema Word or something He wants to have you change as you look to grow in Him, He will reveal it to you – especially if you are open to receiving that Word. The Bible tells us in John 10:27:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Once you make a profession of faith, accept Jesus in your heart as Savior, and make Him Lord over your life Holy Spirit takes residence inside of you and it is His guidance and His help that changes the things within you that need changing. I know that might sound weird, but it is true! He truly brings about change! Now, you have to give Him the authority to work on you, you have to be open to those changes – but it is Holy Spirit who enables you to have a closer walk with God. It is an absolutely wonderful and amazing thing, to develop a relationship with the Third member of the Trinity, Holy Spirit. I have come to love and depend and respect Him and am so thankful for all He has shown me about myself over the last 34 years of my salvation.
I am visual person, so let me share a funny comparison to make you laugh – Have you ever seen the old movie, “The Karate Kid?” The movie is about a martial arts master who agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager. Mr. Miyagi takes Daniel to his home to begin his training. He starts him off by having him wash his car collection. Mr. Miyagi hands Daniel a sponge and orders him to wash and wax all the cars. Mr. Miyagi’s instructions are very specific; Daniel will only use the sponge and waxing cloths by moving his hands and arms in wide circles. He will also breathe deeply, in through his nose and out through his mouth. In the weeks that follow, Mr. Miyagi gives Daniel further chores to complete with similar instructions on technique: sanding a walkway that leads around Mr. Miyagi’s backyard, staining the fence that surrounds his property and painting his house. With each new chore, Daniel’s frustration grows at the seeming lack of any karate training. Mr. Miyagi tells Daniel to show him how he washed and polished the cars, he asks Daniel to show him the motions he’d been using to do the chores. Daniel quickly realizes that the chores were also practice for defensive moves, exercises to build muscle tone, his reflexes and proper breathing technique.
Holy Spirit is like the Mr. Miyagi we invite into our walk with Christ, we have to be open to what it is He is teaching us, revealing to us in order to grow in Christ through what He shows us. It is our willingness to listen (to Holy Spirit) and to learn in order to mature in Christ. It truly is only in the listening of the teachings and observations of Holy Spirit that we can grow in Him. Many become stunted in their walk because they buck against what Holy Spirit is revealing – we must be open to allowing Holy Spirit to do His job, transform our minds, give clarity and understanding to God’s will for our lives in order for us to fulfill our destiny in Christ.
I will also say that one of the things Holy Spirit will teach you, is to know when something IS of God and when it is not. As in the case of Job, Job was surrounded by people who were filled with their own opinions as to why Job was going through ALL that he was experiencing. (Read the book of Job to understand). THEIR opinions WERE NOT the opinions or instruction FROM GOD. It was THEIR opinions. Thankfully Job (in his relationship with God )knew from the comments they made to him about his situation, that the advice they were giving him was not Godly advice, but their own opinions. Job was a man of great faith. He HAD a personal relationship with God that did NOT fail him, even when he didn’t understand the “why” of what he was experiencing. Faith IS trusting God, even when you don’t understand what it is you are going through. HOLY SPIRIT WILL ALWAYS PUT WITHIN YOU, A CHECK WITHIN YOUR SPIRIT, THAT WILL BE YOUR GUIDE TO WHAT IS THAT IS FROM GOD AND WHAT IS FROM PEOPLE. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE. LEARN THE DIFFERENCE. Job’s friends had thought they were giving him Godly advice – but the truth is their advice was not from God (and God rebuked them for it and ironically towards the end of the book of Job, had Job PRAY for THEM). It is important for us to keep our eyes on God and NOT on people. Well meaning people may give you advice, but if Holy Spirit does NOT give you a “check” in your spirit – then you need to learn to recognize WHAT is from people and WHAT is from God. If your spirit is not in line with what you are hearing – than you need to consider the source. We are to keep our eyes ON God and NOT on people. If there is something that Holy Spirit wants to change within you, you will have even just a niggling of a feeling that even if it is something you don’t want to address, it needs addressing… And the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit will repeat Himself until you get it right. This is why it is important to develop a sensitive spirit to the teachings of Holy Spirit, so that you can recognize what to work on and what to toss away. Wisdom comes in recognizing the difference. John 16:13 says:
“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come.”
Psalm 119:105 says:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
If Jesus IS the center of your life and you are seeking Him, He WILL reveal to you through Holy Spirit what needs changing and He won’t leave you to do it on your own, it’s why He had Holy Spirit come. TRUST in HIM. Psalm 32:8 says:
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
One of the most important lessons I have learned in my walk with Christ is to be very careful to keep my eyes on God and not on people. Even well meaning people can dissuade you (such as Job’s friends) from what it is God is actually saying to you. This is why it is important to make Him the very center of your life and to seek HIM through the reading of His Word and through prayer on everything that concerns you. Be open to growing in Christ and you will delight in Holy Spirit, He has become my “Mr. Miyake” and I praise God for all that He has taught me, all that He IS teaching me and all He WILL teach me in the future so that I can continue to live, move and have my being in Him. Praise be to God! \0/ \0/ \0/
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