A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day – November 8, 2019
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5)
Over the years, our ministry has received thousands of prayer requests. We believe in the power of the prayer of faith. However, there is one thing that has been consistent. People want to know what God wants them to do. They want to know God’s will for their lives.
Recently a man wrote and asked us to pray that God would show him what job to take. A lady also wrote and asked us to pray that God would show her if she should marry the man she was seeing or not. Well, there is a way you can know what to do in your daily life – in your business dealings, in your family, in your ministry, and in all your everyday decisions. There is a way to know right from wrong. The way is this: we must be led by the Spirit of God.
How can we be led by the Spirit? How can we know what God wants us to do? First of all, we must listen to God and not to man. (We’ll see how to hear from Him in a moment.) Now, don’t take me wrong. It’s not wrong to get good godly counsel, but ultimately you must hear from God himself and do what He wants you to do.
God will never be confused. His answers will always be clear. Once I went to a revival where a different minister spoke each night. The ministers only attended the night they spoke. The first night, the minister’s theme to his message was to “hold on.” Whatever you do, “hold on.” The next night, the other minister’s theme was “let go.” Whatever you’re holding on to, “let it go.” Some people got confused. When the meetings were over, they didn’t know whether to “hold on” or “let go.”
The Bible tells us, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). When we are led by the Spirit, we will not be confused. Instead, we will have direction and move forward in peace.
First of all, to be led by the Spirit of God, we must be born again. Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” Secondly, we must spend time with God and His Word. We cannot expect to hear from God if we never allow Him to talk. (He can speak to us through His Word and in our hearts.)
Also, something often overlooked is this: Man is a three-part being. Man is a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Here, in this scripture, we clearly see that the Bible makes a distinction between the spirit and the soul and the body. The point is this: We contact the physical realm with our body. We contact our soul realm with our intellect. And we contact the spirit realm with our spirit. We cannot be led by the Spirit of God if we never enter into the spiritual realm because the things of the Spirit cannot be understood by the natural man.
So, when you have a decision to make and you are seeking God for wisdom, remember this – you can be led by the Spirit. You can have the mind of Christ and know the will of God for your life. You don’t have to be in the dark concerning your destiny (1 Corinthians 2:16).
