When You Let the Spirit Lead by Hannah Grace Staton
“Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness because of my enemies; make your way straight before me.”
-Psalm 5:8 (ESV)
Are you in a place of indecision right now? Maybe you want to take the next step on the path God has for you, but you’re not sure what that step is, so you’re stalling. Maybe the fear of making the wrong decision paralyzes you, and you don’t know what to do.
Take courage, friend. The path ahead is far less frightening when you’re holding the hand of your Guide.
Jesus promised his disciples on the night he was betrayed that after he left them, he would send them the Helper, the Holy Spirit, who would dwell in them and guide them into all truth (John 16:13-25). He went so far as to say that it was better for him to leave them or else the Helper would not come to them (John 16:7).
If Jesus considered the Spirit’s indwelling of his disciples to be more valuable than his own bodily presence on earth, what does that say about the preciousness of this gift we have received? This is the One who walks beside you. In light of his presence, you have nothing to fear.
We all face times of indecision when the next step isn’t clear, but we don’t need to fear those times. Instead, we can look at them with eyes of faith and choose to see them as opportunities. Whether big or small, every decision counts because it plays a part in shaping who we are becoming.
The next time you’re faced with a decision and you’re not sure which way to go, take this word to heart: let the Spirit lead.
“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. . . .Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!”
-Psalm 143:8, 10 (ESV)
Letting Him Lead
Letting the Spirit lead is a choice we have to make. Even though the Holy Spirit has been given to believers to guide us, we still have to choose whether we will resist him or obey him. We know this because the Bible indicates it is possible to quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19).
Don’t harden your heart to the Spirit’s stirrings. Respond when you first sense his call, because the longer you resist, the harder it will be for you to hear and obey later on.
How He Leads
How do you know when the Holy Spirit is leading you? I can’t tell you exactly what it will look like, but I can tell you that he will speak in ways specific to you. Our God leads gently, with a steady hand, as a good shepherd guides his sheep. He knows his sheep, and his sheep know him. Sheep don’t know much, but one thing they do know is the voice of their shepherd (John 10:1-5).
He will speak through his Word, through the church, and through circumstances, but he will make those common means specific to you. He will lead you through the verses that are especially meaningful to you, the members of the local church you are part of, and the unique set of circumstances you are in. The way he leads you will be spoken in an accent you understand. This is part of why God’s guidance for you might not always make sense to others.
Even though those are the main ways God speaks, they are not the only ways he speaks; so keep your ears, eyes, and heart open to however he may choose to lead you. God often speaks in unusual ways and shows up in unexpected places. So don’t limit him.
Where He Leads
Just as the Spirit will lead you in ways unique to you, he will also lead you to a unique destination. Don’t expect your life to look just like the lives of those around you, and don’t look to them to lead you. While others can be a part of helping you find your direction, you must only listen to them as long as they are in line with how God is leading you individually.
Our God is marvelously creative, and he delights in giving individuals assignments perfectly suited to the way he has been preparing them. So don’t limit yourself to one particular vision of success that looks like someone else’s. Faithfulness has many faces.
Sometimes the Spirit will lead you to a hard place, a dry and dusty desert where Living Water might seem scarce. Yet even there, he has a purpose. The desert is not your final destination. He who led you to it will lead you through it. He won’t always lead you by the path you expected or to the place you imagined, but he will lead you to a good land in his way and in his time.
As He Leads
When you let the Spirit lead, you stop worrying, hustling, and striving, and you start trusting, resting, and rejoicing. In the place of fear, uncertainty, and regret, you find peace, joy, and boldness as you move forward in faith. You can stop second-guessing your decision making when your first step is praying and listening to what God says.
When you let the Spirit lead, your soul is freed to breathe. No longer strained under the pressure of planning your own path, you’re free to follow the road the Lord paves before you. You will receive the gift you need in each season, whether it’s faith to move forward, willingness to wait, or patience to persevere.
The Spirit who hovered over the waters of the deep unknown at the beginning of time is able to bring a world of life where before there was nothing. You can trust him to lead you in the way that is best and create calm from the chaos.
Today, may you rest in the peace that comes when you let the Spirit lead.
Before and after everything else, Hannah Grace Staton is a beloved daughter of the King. She's a homeschool graduate, student in the Young Writer's Workshop, and assistant newsletter manager at Skillful Pen Press. Hannah Grace seeks to bring her faith to the page in fresh and creative ways, sharing what the Lord has been teaching her in a form others can benefit from. She desires to use her words to encourage, challenge, and inspire readers. A countercultural teenager, one of her passions is connecting older and younger generations of Christians by helping them see how they can learn from each other. Memoirs, devotionals, and inspirational stories fill Hannah Grace's shelves, Christians' songs from the 1990s and 2010s form the soundtrack of her life, and scribbled ideas of her own (often drawn from others' stories and songs) fill the folders in her desk and eventually flow into her writing. A few publishers have featured her work, including Calla Press and Kosmeo Magazine (with more to come). You can read more of Hannah Grace's writing on her blog, The Grace Space.