Did you know that a compass needle is just a little magnet that aligns itself with the much larger magnetic field of the earth? What is more, you can confuse and distract a compass needle by bringing another magnet nearby. The distracting pull of something like a fridge magnet drags the compass needle off its true reading. To let the compass rest, you need to set it in a place where it has just one influence – it settles only when it is aligned with the earth’s poles. A compass is a direction finder. It is a magnetometer used for navigation and orientation that shows direction relative to the geographic cardinal directions. Usually, a diagram called a compass rose shows the directions north, south, east, and west on the compass face as abbreviated initials.
I like to think of prayer that way. When we pray, we put our spiritual compass in a place away from all the influences that drag us off course, and we allow it to settle in the field of God’s will. We make His influence the priority. We align our soul with Him. We let our compass rest on Him.
So too in the spiritual life.
If we are not oriented in the right direction and do not have a clear idea of where we are headed, it is easy to get side-tracked when the storms of life come and try to pummel us. When the wind blows. When the waves come. We can then end-up drifting into dangerous territory that will further separate us from our destination.
Life comes with troubles, regardless of whether or not you follow Jesus. You get to choose if you want Him to join you in your troubles, or if you’d rather go through them alone.
What I want you to remember as you face life’s storms is that Jesus is with you. You are not alone. You will never walk alone. Rather than focusing on the problems, focus on the promises. If you focus too much on the problems, you will lose sight of the promises. Fix your eyes on Jesus and His Word and He will bring peace and calm to the struggles you are facing. Do not give up. Do not cave in. And do not quick. Stay on course and keep your eyes on Jesus. He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith.
Here are 3 Ways to Let the Holy Spirit Lead You into All Truth.
1. Lean Not on Your Own Understanding
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) tells us one way we allow the Lord to direct our steps is by not leaning on our own understanding to make decisions in life. That goes against the natural grain, but it’s the only safe way to live.
Our own understanding is often led by emotion or limited facts. It’s fickle, ever-changing, and often driven by the opinions of others that sound right in the moment. The only truth is found in God’s Word. But it’s hard to stand up for the truth if you don’t know it. Too many Christians are ill-equipped to stand for truth.
2. Pull Down Strongholds
A stronghold is a belief system that is so ingrained in someone, it colors their perception of themselves and those around them. It can come from a cultural norm, a political ideology, religious traditions or even a social movement. Of strongholds, Andrew Wommack says, “The one who is holding to the stronghold may not wish to be against God in their thinking, but the stronghold is so deeply rooted that they aren’t even aware that they are filtering God’s Truth through the lens of the stronghold. Strongholds allow deception. The fundamental characteristic about deception is that the one who is deceived does not know it. We battle strongholds in the spiritual realm through prayer, binding wrong spirits and speaking the Word of God.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (ESV).
3. Put God First Place in Your Life
The only way to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth is to know His voice and hear it louder than any other voice in your life. And the only way to know His still, small voice is to put God first place in your life.
You do this by:
• Spending time with Him every day—in His Word and in prayer.
• Praying continuously throughout your day.
• Remembering to pray in the Holy Spirit!
• Seeking Him all week long—not just on Sundays.
• Allowing Him to bring correction to your heart.
• Being opened to hearing from Him on all matters.
• Looking in His Word in its entirety for answers.
When you truly desire to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth—He will. Don’t become so stuck in your ways that you fail to see the truth right in front of you. Be willing to be wrong—be humble and teachable. Then, you will be free from deception and walk in the light of the truth all the days of your life.
When we lean on God, we enter into His rest and can enjoy our lives, no matter what our circumstances may be.
Hebrews 4:9-11 says, so then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest…
“What is God’s will for my life?”
At different points in life, you may find yourself having to make decisions that determine where your life is headed. Where am I going in life? What is it that God has for me to do? What direction does He want me to take? This question is an appropriate response, and you may have asked it in the past. Maybe that is what you are asking right now. You are trusting and believing God for directions.
That is where the compass comes in — it kept you on course. You have all the tools at your disposal. The Holy Spirit your personal guide is the one who helps you navigate the twists and turns of the journey most. The Holy Spirit gives you a big picture overview of where you are headed, and he helps you understand the direction you need to go. And the Holy Spirit guides us to unknown, uncharted, and undiscovered regions of life.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak and he will shew you things to come. John 16:13 (KJV)
“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. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (vv. 13–14). – John 16:12–15
Anne Graham Lotz wrote, “Prayer helps us anchor our faith in God. It’s like setting our spiritual compass so that regardless of the twists and turns during the day, the needle of our focused faith always turns to God. Daniel’s life was anchored in prayer…. and he maintained that commitment even when under pressure and in the face of life-threatening attack.” Let’s thank God daily and in celebration, this month, of His great and mighty works!
As we desire what God desires, his purpose becomes our purpose. And this “true north” guides our decisions and actions.
When Paul told the church at Colossae to “devote themselves” to prayer (Colossians 4:2) he used a word that means to be persistently attentive – like a faithful friend. Paul also offered two attitudes that should characterize a persistent prayer life. Those who pray should be watchful and thankful.
The word watchful suggests an alert mind. Spiritual eyes wide open We should be aware of, and resist, the enemy’s attempted intrusions and distractions (those fridge magnets that pull us off the true course). In addition, we must be sensitive to God’s promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit as we align our will with His.
In fact, the Bible encourages us to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer can happen anywhere and at any time because God is always available to listen.
Sometimes we may want to pray, but not know where to start. The good news is that God understands what we are trying to say—even if we do not quite know how to say it (Romans 8:26-27). God cares about what is going on in your life: the good, the bad. In fact, he wants to help you with whatever is going on in your life—all you must do is ask. And when you ask, ask in the Name of Jesus.
The Bible says we can approach God with confidence, knowing that He is ready and willing to help us whenever we’re in need (Hebrews 4:16).
We can take anything to God in prayer. Prayer is possible because Jesus Christ has removed the barrier between us and God—a barrier caused by our sins. You see, sin separates us from God, and because of that we have no right to come before Him. But by His death on the cross, Christ paid the penalty for our sins and removed the barrier. God then gives us the privilege of coming into His presence when we commit our lives to Christ. You can learn to be led by the Spirit and avoid being swept away by deception.
Stay with Jesus!
And Stay in Love!
