Any new Christian is likely to be confronted at some point by the advice that one's life needs to be led by the Holy Spirit. That sounds great, even exciting. So it should, because it is. It is, also, without doubt, one of the greatest advantages of being a Christian.
Yet it does raise a series of questions about how this leadership by the Holy Spirit comes about, and how one can know that that leadership is actually taking place.
HEARING GOD
The whole area of hearing God is quite complex and we cannot treat every aspect here. (See our web site below for a comprehensive disscusion in our book "The keys To Hearing God Speak")
But how do we hear the Holy Spirit? In a miriad of possible ways from the (very rare but nonetheless actual) external voice to a voice within one's own mind, through the Bible or other books (when phrases "stand out" in one way or another, through messages given to other people for us (but of which we do need to exercise caution) to messages which come to us from others without their being conscious of them, and so forth.
In all these, and other instances we need to be able to discern God's voice from others. In the main this comes only through practice, but through a practice closely coupled with the practice of faith. We shall encounter many other people who will be eager to fill us with sceptism about God speaking us and that can be a great challenge to our faith. This seems to be not least when God himself appears to be pushing our faith to the limit.
HEARING IS NOT SEEING
Thus hearing God is not necessarily seeing what he wants or, sometimes, even understanding what he wants. Faith does not only lead us to HEAR God, faith is also about doing what one is told without necessarily knowing what the outcome will be or what the actual purpose is.
Take a few New Testament examples. The parents of John the Baptist did not know that he was to become the Baptist. They only knew that his conception and birth were what God wanted and, indeed, were brought about by God. They saw to his birth and brought him up without any real indication of what he was to be about. They probably realised that it had some connection with Jesus but, so far as we know, nothing more than that.
Much the same could probably be said about Joseph and Mary. Certainly they were given rather more information about Jesus. Without doubt Mary knew Jesus was, in his humanity, the Son of God, which is why she eventually became known as the "Mother of God". Not literally, as everyone knows to be impossible, but in the sense of giving birth to God in human form. Joseph had to take rather more of this on faith but there is no doubt that he fully believed it. Yet even Mary had to ponder these things in her heart (Luke 2. 19) because she did not fully understand what it was all about. Nor would she realise what Simeon meant when he told her that a sword would pierce her own heart (Luke 2. 35).
So hearing God tell us to do one thing or another does not necessarily mean that we shall understand or foresee the eventual outcome, nor even have any foreknowledge about the process and sequencing of events. All our life in God has to be taken on trust, and trust, of course, is the inseparable concomitant of faith: one cannot be separated from the other.
DOING WHAT COMES UNNATURALY
For most of us, our natural instinct is want to understand, as fully as possible, what we are hearing and what we are involved in. But, just as a first principle in hearing the Holy Spirit speaking to us and leading us, is to accept that he does precisely this, so a second principle is that we should not necessarily expect to understand everything about what he has said to us or led us into. Often we have to do comes unnaturaly to us. That can be a hard lesson, especially when it is spread out over a quite lengthy period of time. But it is an essential lesson to continuing to hear him in future.
This article is copyright but may be reproduced providing that all this information is included.
Over twenty-three years in Christian healing teaching writing ministries. Wide range of secular employments before being called by the Lord into full time independent ministry in 1987. With his wife Iris he has ministered both in the UK and USA. Has written several books on healing meditation and various aspects of spirituality.
Formal qualifications include: B.A. M.Phil. Cambridge University Certificate in Religious Studies. Post Grad Cert. in Education.
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