The still small voice of the Holy Spirit, His gentle promptings and impressions, though they are so quiet, and we can easily ignore them, and miss them, THEY ARE THE BIG thing.
Ironic, eh, how God works, that the BIGGEST thing comes to us as the smallest thing. (How God was manifest in human flesh and born as a baby)
That quiet impression is the Creator God speaking to you! (if your heart, mind, will and life is captive to Christ).
The natural mind, on the other hand, would expect the voice of God to be some momentous event, like thunder on the mountain, so obvious that one could not miss it.
The oh-so-gentle prompting to send a mail of encouragement to a brother or sister, to make a call, to go visit some one – - whatever : responding and obeying His promptings is the HEART of walking with Him and following Jesus.
But, notice how when we discuss this, there comes a delineation between walking by the Spirit and walking by the intellect alone.
Our intellect must be renewed by, and submitted to, the rule of Christ – His peace ruling and reigning in our hearts.
February 22, 2012 at 10:08 am
bump
February 24, 2012 at 6:54 am
Yep. It’s true. I’ve missed opportunities simply by ignoring the Holy Spirit’s nudges and whispers in my spirit. Of course, some will still say the Scriptures IS the only way God speaks to us. Personally, I see it as pigeonholing God to one ‘box’. What do you think?
I know the Bible is the primary way He speaks to us. I just don’t fancy the idea of some people insisting that IT is the ONLY way He speaks.
February 24, 2012 at 7:51 am
Truth and direction, though they’re related, are still two different things.
The Bible doesn’t tell us whom to speak to, who exactly to pray for at any given time, precisely whom we should marry….. etc etc.. – That is, regarding the multitude of things in which we should be guided by the Spirit (obviously not in things like going to the bathroom).
The argument that we don’t need to be led by the Spirit in the direction we take and what we do; that is, that God gives us a good intellect, and we alone choose what we should do, and we figure it all out with our wonderful God-given intellect, alone, is rank HERESY.
It is what the Bible calls, self-willed.
It may appear religious, but it is rebellion.
Yet, only by understanding the Truth of God’s Word which is in Jesus, are we equipped to know and discern the directions and promptings of the Spirit (as in specific directions) cos we will know the nature of our Shepherd: My sheep hear my voice and follow me. They hear Jesus voice in two inseparable ways : By knowing His Truth, His Word, His nature, and by being led or prompted by the Holy Spirit : both of these in harmony.
So, while the Bible doesn’t name for you exactly whom you should marry, it does educate you as to whom may suitable, by giving us understanding in the matter, and by shaping our values so that we will know God’s direction and will.
If a person’s values are shaped by the Word of God, in the first place, then it’s not so hard for them to discern the promptings and direction of the Spirit.
But if they are not conformed to Christ, and don’t share His values, they could easily be mistaken in what they think are the promptings of the Spirit.
The promptings of the Spirit never contradict the revealed nature of Jesus in the Scripture.