Below is a video on how to listen to the Holy Spirit in your life. We’ve been given a tremendous gift in Holy Spirit – but if we don’t tune in and learn to listen – it is a gift left unopened. The Spirit is given to God’s children – to teach, guide, lead, comfort and help. Through the Spirit we gain tremendous insight that helps us in every area of our lives. Please take a few mintues to watch the video.
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Matthew 6:33-34 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
I’ve been focusing on seeking God. One way I’ve been doing that is by choosing three characteristics of God each week to meditate on. At the start of my quiet time I think on these qualities, letting them sink in. This past week one was God as our Counselor. As I’ve been learning to seek and listen to His counsel, the listening part takes practice, His counsel has astounded me. The detail in which He speaks about my situations is amazing. Just this morning, I was seeking clarity on a particular situation. His guidance was specific and complete. He speaks to us in our spirits where we know it’s perfect.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Imagine the most incredible counselor. One who is always available day or night. Will let you talk as long as you want. Doesn’t bill you. Leads you to each next step. Tells you what you need to hear when you need it, no sooner or later. (Otherwise, you wouldn’t get it or be overwhelmed, or it’s too late.) Won’t let you dive into something without counsel – though you may chose not to listen or follow. If you are trying to listen, will make sure you hear. Won’t mislead you. Won’t leave you confused. Knows you better than anyone else. Has complete understanding of everyone and every situation. Has perfect wisdom. Will guide you on the perfect path for you and those around you. Cares for you more than anyone else. Desires your very best. Will never give up on you. Gives you mercy when you don’t listen. Always forgives your rebellion to his counsel. Loves you more than anyone else in your life.
We would all love to have this kind of counselor. And if we are a child of God, we DO. Do we really understand what we’ve been given? Do we listen?
John 14:15-17, 26 If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever– the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
Others can be a good sounding board, offer advice, and share their experiences that are similar with ours and while they can be a blessing, their counsel doesn’t and can’t compare to what we receive from God. It isn’t one or the other, it’s building a relationship with God in which we learn to hear His counsel, and understand the support of others is to be built upon that sound foundation. It takes time to learn to hear His voice. But we need to be seeking to be able to hear Him so we can truly live an effective and satisfying life and one that truly glorifies Him. We can’t solely rely upon the counsel of others, because it’s limited and often can be “off” or incomplete. God can use others to speak to us and He often does. But this interaction doesn’t replace seeking and hearing His counsel from Him. From Him, it’s deeper, richer and more complete than any we’ve ever experienced. It’s just different. It’s like being taught by Him verses by a human. You can’t compare. It’s completely different.
God is all knowing. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows every side to a situation. He knows what lies ahead. He knows what really happened in the past. He has perfect wisdom. There is nothing He can’t counsel us in. He is an expert at everything. He is more than qualified to counsel us and He wants to. He asks only that we seek and trust Him.
During a trial is when we feel we need our counselor the most, however in reality we need Him all the time. Yet it’s in trials, He can seem to be distant or not as vocal. But He is closer than we know because we are a part of Him. He will never leave us. His care is perfect. We need to trust Him at His lead and the manner He is coming and speaking to us is perfect. Too often we have expectations about how He should be speaking or leading us, instead of being still, listening and realizing He is coming to us in the perfect way. Our expectations of what we think He should be doing prohibit us from seeing what He is doing. Sometimes it’s the silence and the stillness we need the most.
Don’t settle for less, when you’ve been given the best. If you take time to listen, His counsel will astound you and change your life as you develop a listening ear.
Psalm 31:3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me.
Related Posts:
A Gift Often Left Unopened – the Holy Spirit
Reworking our Mindsets to be Spirit-Led
At a company I use to work for, there was a period where gossip was a problem. I tried to keep my distance, but sometimes I got lured in for that’s the nature of the beast. (And as I’ve learned giving a listening ear to gossipers is the same as being one). A co-worker tried to hold me accountable to resisting the gibberish. The office was small so it was easy to see just about anyone from any vantage point. When the clacking hens starting gathering to exploit the latest drama, my friend gave me a look that I knew right away – run! I did.
As believers, we can help each other from certain pit falls, like my friend helped me. HOWEVER, we are really accountable to God, not to one another. Thus, we need to be pursuing another dimension of accountability – listening to the Holy Spirit’s counsel. He holds us accountable to a level we can’t get from others, because He is within us and His will of what is right for us is different and beyond any others.
If we are listening, we will hear His voice of instruction at a wandering thought before we act on it. Ever since I’ve been cultivating listening to Him, the accountability has been extensive. I never realized just how much “course correction” I needed. But, He speaks with such love and mercy that all I feel is encouragement and motivation to heed His wise counsel. When accountability comes from Him, it’s never about guilt but truth and love.
Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:
As I read this verse, I thought about how “reproofs of instruction” are a way of life for me in two senses.
One, I’m constantly receiving reproofs of instruction from the Holy Spirit. A wrong thought pops in my head, an irrational fear, or an outward temptation comes my way and He is there calling attention to it. He reframes, refocuses, and refines and keeps me headed in the right direction. I’m thankful for His corrections in my life, yet reading this verse is a great comfort, because I get them all the time. Now that I know it’s a way of life I feel better. I was beginning to wonder.
Being corrected by the Holy Spirit isn’t a phase we will grow out of but a way of life as long as we are in the flesh bodies. We are constantly battling ourselves who are like wandering sheep. 1 Peter 5:8 The Spirit helps us to navigate those roiling waters.
Our journey here with God isn’t about walking perfectly. It’s about listening and acting on the counsel that keeps us walking on the “paths of righteousness”. It’s much easier to nip something in the bud, rather than try to remedy the ramifications later. The best time to stop a wayward step is when it starts as a thought. For this reason, the Holy Spirit who dwells in us is the best accountability partner we will ever have.
When we talk about accountability we often are referring to someone on the outside. However, true accountability comes from the Holy Spirit for we are accountable to God. The Spirit resides within us and if we listen He is able to keep us from acting on those wayward thoughts. Sure there many times we act so quick there isn’t much time to stop the thought before it becomes a reality, but if we are listening the Spirit is swift to redirect us.
The second meaning of reproofs of instruction is the way of life is that the Spirit’s instruction leads to life, true life. When we heed the Spirit’s instruction we abide in what is love, constructive, wise, and purposeful. At any one time, our thoughts are either coming from God’s truth or the lies of the world. When we are listening and following the Spirit’s instruction we remain in the wisdom that is from above that brings abundant life. It’s for our best to take heed to the Spirit’s counsel in our lives. God desires abundant life for us, if we are listening and following His voice that is where He will lead us.
Gaining the Ear to Hear the Spirit
How do you get an “ear” for the Spirit’s voice? By abiding in God’s Word. In His Word you develop an understanding of what His voice sounds like, so that you can discern it from the others. Otherwise, you won’t know the nature of His voice. It’s like sensing the “voice” of a particular author. They have a certain character, style, and sound that distinguishes them from others. As you read their works, you learn to differentiate them by their unique “voice”. When you abide in God’s Word you learn to recognize His voice. There are MANY copycats to His voice, so it’s critical to learn what is truly His.
Next, you get an “ear” by practicing listening. During your quiet time where there is stillness and quiet, try to listen during your prayers. Most of us are so busy talking but not listening, one of the most important parts of prayer. In addition to listening in the Word and in prayer, set time aside at the end of your quiet time to be still and listen. This practice has had a substantial impact on my life. I’m much more sensitive and in tune with the Spirit’s voice. Though I have a long way to go, it has made a significant difference. It’s having the most qualified counselor constantly by my side.
Finally, take time to be still before each major task during the day to pray and listen. Eventually, you will form a habit of listening throughout the day.
I encourage you to take time each day seeking to hear His voice – it will change your life. In listening, you are drawing closer to God, who loves abounds toward you and wants your very best. He wants to lead and help you on that path to abundant life, but you have to take time to listen so you can follow Him.
Proverbs 10:17 He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.
For the past couple of months the Holy Spirit has been teaching me various mindsets to have in order to be able to listen and follow to Him throughout the day. When we learn to listen and follow the Spirit, our lives become truly powerful as we are consciously connected to Him, operate according to His will not ours, and act in His strength not ours.
Celebrate Each Day
The first mindset the Spirit taught me is to celebrate each day because it’s the only one we have. We will never have the opportunities we have today to love, give, learn, impact someone’s life and so on. We are to enjoy, embrace, and share what we have been given. We can’t go back and repeat a day, what we make of it is what it will forever be, and what we do today affects tomorrow. When you consider the impact and finality of a day, it’s amazing most of us live like we can repeat them. Today is what’s real, which leads me to the next lesson learned.
Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Stay in the Day
In my early twenties I tried to live by the phrase, live in the moment. Back then, it meant to enjoy each day and not get caught up in the past or future. But the Spirit’s recent instruction brought a bit of a different slant and importance to this mindset. When we are in the moment or stay in the day, as a friend calls it, we are more connected to the Spirit because that is where the Spirit is, therefore that is how we have a spirit-lead life. When our mind is elsewhere we aren’t engaged with Him and not listening to His voice and instruction, which is what we need to live by. 2 Corinthians 10:5, 1 John 2:27
The past is done and the future is unknown, but many of us live in one or both of these places mentally and emotionally. The past does affect our current moments because what we experienced and choose put us where we are today, but too often we are bounded by it. And one common way is through un-forgiveness. For years I had un-forgiveness in the form of “justified anger and pain” from things that happened in the past; it plagued my days sucking true life from them. When we don’t forgive someone and harbor ill-will against them, then that affects our current decisions, mindset and health. Un-forgiveness is a thief of life, freedom and joy. But how do we forgive truly? For many years I wanted to forgive but couldn’t. We forgive by the power of God working in us. As I cried out to God, He brought forgiveness into the depths of my soul, it was a process.
Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
The flip side is dwelling in the worries of an unknown future. (Blog I wrote on worry, Irrational Worry )We get caught up in worry about what might happen that we live this present moment in a future that doesn’t exist and that also is a rancid thief. There is a balance between being responsible and making good decisions that affect the future, and being consumed with worry about it. The former comes from a mindset of trust the other from fear. To overcome consuming worry requires trust in God, the One who is sovereign over everything. Trusting God is the fruit of cultivating a relationship with Him. Only by spending time getting to really know Him, can we truly trust Him. When we do the worry begins to cease and trust takes over; trust in Him, His love for us and His promises. We need to be listening to the Spirit, not worrying.
Matthew 6:24 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
When we stay in the day, then we can attune to the Spirit’s active leading. When we engage Him it changes what happens in our lives as His direction is perfect and complete for us. Take time to invite the Spirit into your thought processes.
Mindset of Praise
The third mindset is to be praise-oriented, which means to praise God throughout the day for Him, His promises, the things around us, and so on. This mindset is the ultimate worship of God, because it is real, true, heart-felt, and active.
This mindset isn’t about denial of what’s happening. It’s looking at a situation from a different perspective. For example, many are in the midst of a financial trial. This type of trial is a tremendous test and refinement of trust in God’s ways not ours, His provision, and sovereignty. We can either dwell in the mindset of being frustrated and complaining, or recognize God’s control and work, God taking care of our present needs, and seeking the Spirit’s counsel. Praise isn’t to be forced or contrived, but real. God cares about the heart. And praise without denial glorifies God. It shows we know Him, trust Him that He is faithful to do what He promises. It reveals we understand His perfect love for us and working in our lives. To gain a heart of praise comes from truly knowing Him and trusting in Him and His promises.
When God is our God there is always a reason to praise because of His love and care for us. We may not feel that in the moment, but our feelings aren’t reality. They are the sum of a whole host of things. The truth is the former.
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
Connecting the Three Mindsets
A praise mindset helps us to celebrate each day and to stay in the day (so that we can be spirit-lead) because we are aware and thankful for what is right before us. We are outward focused not self-absorbed and therefore more readily available to listen to and be used by God.
Considering these new mindsets, how do you change your thought patterns? Have you ever tried? It’s very difficult on our own. We don’t do it; God does it in us. When God instructs us, and we heed His instruction then He enables us. God rewires our brains. He has done it many times in me. Our part is to pray and keep these truths always before us. Acts 5:32
Through this instruction, I realized how much I’ve missed out on by living in the past or living in the future. I realized how ineffective I’ve been by being absorbed in those and not listening to the Spirit because my mind was busy somewhere else. Those are powerful motivators to drive me forward in what the Spirit has taught me. God is amazing in how perfectly He instructs and leads us to walking in the abundant life He came to give.
These are some powerful New Years resolutions to consider if you’re looking for some.
Thanksgiving always begs the question, what are we thankful for? One gift our Father gives us is the Holy Spirit to teach, help, guide and counsel each one of us. John 14:15-17, 1 John 2:27
For years, I felt like God forgot me on this account. There were several reasons for this, but a couple were I really didn’t ask (Luke 11:13) and I wasn’t making an effort to listen. The Spirit is given to help us, but if we aren’t seeking and listening we’ll believe He isn’t there at all.
This gift we have been given is tremendous. If you’ve never stopped to listen to His counsel you may wonder – what is it like? Here is a quote I pulled off a fellow blogger’s site, RunHoly, from a woman and her experience of this gift;
“I know when the Lord is speaking to me because literally the air around me changes. There is a stillness that settles all my raging emotions and questions and simply bids me to be silent, listen, and consider what I hear. And then it’s almost as if it comes from the center of my being–the answer, the revelation, the instruction, and it is sealed in this definite place inside of me that I can’t describe. I only know that I must do what I’ve been prompted to do. If I resist, I can’t breathe, but when I say yes and obey, the most incredible sense of knowing and peace overtakes me, and the matter is settled once and for all.” –Michelle Mckinney Hammond
To learn to listen to the Spirit’s leading in our lives is an art especially these days with all the noise around us and in our heads. Cultivating this habit of being still and hearing the Spirit’s counsel is critical for several reasons:
The Spirit’s counsel:
• Is contrary to man’s wisdom
• Brings God’s power into our actions
• Has fruitful outcomes
• Is different from man’s wisdom
The Bible is loaded with examples of these points but here are two that I recently read. In Luke 5:5, fishermen had been casting their nets all day and catching nothing. Jesus told them to cast the nets out one more time. But what would another cast do when all the previous ones turned up empty? According to the wisdom of the world, it would be stupid to waste time and energy doing exactly what you had done before and what you proved doesn’t work, right? But at Jesus’ word, they cast their nets one more time and caught so much fish that their boat started to sink. The Spirit’s counsel is contrary to the world’s and at His counsel things happen. When He tells us to do something it’s for a reason and when we act according to His instruction, we are acting in a power beyond ourselves. We accomplish what we could never do on our own.
If the Spirit tells us to do something and we don’t or we aren’t listening, we will miss out on the blessing. What if those fishermen just ignored Him? What if they listened but said – you’re crazy there aren’t any fish I’m tired and going home? Often, when we do hear His instruction, we don’t realize it was His instruction and/or we talk ourselves out of following it because it doesn’t resonate with the wisdom we know and miss out on the blessings. God’s ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts and that is why it’s so important to develop the art of listening to the Spirit. God wants to do so much in our lives, but many aren’t listening. And we have to listen to Him because His counsel is different from most counsel we receive. Many are praying and crying out to God, but are they listening to the instruction that will be an answer to their prayer?
Another great example is Joshua who sought and listened to God’s counsel and the accomplishments in his life showed it. The time he didn’t seek God’s counsel in Joshua 9:14 and acted on his own judgment he was defeated. But when he sought God’s counsel and obeyed it, God prospered all his efforts. It was tremendous the nations he conquered and the battles he won. But look at the crazy instructions God gave him, Jericho being a great example. Walking around a city blowing trumpets in order to conquer it? Doesn’t seem like a very effective strategy by the world’s definitions of logic. However, it brought the walls down and the Israelites took over the city. What unique counsel; not something man’s wisdom would suggest. But the oddity of God’s guidance brought glory to whom glory and praise are due – God. There was no doubt it was God’s doing. Listening to His instruction is for our good and His glory. Joshua 23:10, Judges 7:2
A main point of these two scenarios in Luke and Joshua and MANY others in the Bible where we see the uniqueness, contrary nature, power and outcomes of God’s counsel is that we should seek His counsel and not our own. We need to learn to listen to the one He gave us to counsel us, the Holy Spirit. He uses different strategies and if we aren’t listening we won’t know what they are and we’ll act in our own judgment and we will live the consequences of it.
What does it mean to be lead by the Spirit? To listen to the Spirit? To seek His counsel? It means abiding in the entire Word of God to become personally aquainted with His voice to be able to discern it in our lives. It means cultivating the habit of being still in His presence, seeking His counsel, understanding confirmation and acting on it. I’m finding this practice has MANY rewards as I’m learning to listen. When we are listening to His counsel for our lives and walking in it then we are doing His will and not our own of what we think we should do. We are walking in the spirit – literally walking according to His words.
God gave the Spirit to reside with us always to teach, counsel and guide. But if we never stop and listen, what’s the point of this incredible gift? It is like having a present that you never open and use. He has given us the Spirit for our good, to help us and lead us where we need to go, and to fill our lives with actions done in God’s power not ours.
This holiday season take time to consider this awesome gift and show true gratitude by cultivating the art of seeking and listening to His counsel. You never know what will happen – perhaps your nets will break or you’ll conquer those seemingly impossible giants. Whatever it is you’ll be acting in His power that is bound to blow your socks off.
We live in a hilly area of California. The other day I took a walk up to a high point in our neighborhood that overlooks the valley below. It provided a respite from the busyness of life; a place to be still and quiet in God’s presence, and to hear His voice.
As I looked over the mountains, the beauty and complexity of God’s creation amazed me. I thought, what a peaceful and revitalizing time it must have been for Jesus to escape from the multitudes to a mountain to be alone with God, to be still in His Father’s presence, to pray, to reflect. Did He just sit there and feel the gentle breeze across His skin as I am now?
As I looked over the expanse, I reflected upon God’s creation and all He has given us to enjoy, and the perfection of how everything works in harmony. But then a sharp pain pierced my soul as I thought about how many people never consider God and what He has done – how for so many years I didn’t. As my eyes fell upon the houses built into the mountainside, I thought about how people look to their own strength, provision and protection, something I’ve often done. They think they provide and protect when in a moment the God they forget could make those mountains crumble – those mountains they feel so secure upon in their houses – houses full of their precious treasures like their spouse, children, and pets.
Who are we to think we protect or provide? How quickly we could be crushed? Haven’t we learned from floods, earthquakes, fires, and hurricanes that we aren’t in control? That we are dependent on God’s mercy? What arrogance to think we are the providers, protectors, sustainers of life . . . that we are in control. How arrogant to forget our God when His beauty, complexity and order are all around us are screaming about His power, might and love. Without His mercy, we would all perish.
When Jesus was on the mountain – did He think a similar thing? Did He think about all He has done for us and all He was about to do and yet now we continue to turn our back on Him, reject Him, think we know better, don’t heed His Words, don’t spend time with Him, and don’t trust Him?
How sad it must make Him even now, when He has done so much for us, and we continue to reject His true lordship and kingdom in our lives. He has created a world that reveals His wisdom, perfection and love. Yet, we don’t exalt Him but we exalt ourselves. Even though we continue to deny Him and go our own way, He continues to preserve us. Even for those who do intimately know Him, how often we slip into thinking we are in control. We get consumed with worry, when He has done so much for us. God forgive us.
This mountain top experience was very humbling. And yet, it was full of powerful moments of praise for all that God has done, does do and will do. God’s love and patience overwhelms me.
May we daily have mountain top reflections that puts our perspective in the right place and reminds of us who we are, who our God is, and how much He loves us and pours His mercy upon us and that it is His work and not ours to be exalted.
This last week as I started to venture down new paths, fear started banging at my back door.
When I examined my heart, I found doubt. I doubted the power of God in my life. Not His power, but in my life in this area. After all He has done . . . after all His confirmations, encouragement and help, I doubted. After all He has done in other areas of my life, which has been truly tremendous, I doubted. Memories of past failures crept into my life. Times where I started something but it never quite made it. Times where I was like a ship prepared to sail but never caught the wind. What if that happened again?
This morning during my quiet time I poured out my heart to God. I laid out my fear before Him and in the stillness and quietness, He spoke to me:
This is not your work it is mine. And I will complete it to the end. Your failures before weren’t failures but were what you needed to go through to come to me. You were always mine, but you didn’t know it. You needed to walk a path that unsatisfied you and left you empty to prompt you to seek me. Don’t fear. I’m with you. Forget the past, push forward with me knowing you don’t walk alone anymore. I’m with you until the end. Don’t give room to this fear. Fill that space with my promises; 2 Corinthians 9:8, Ezra 8:22, Psalm 46:1. Just be who you are and let me do the rest. I will work in and through your life according to my purposes. Walk by my still waters and green pastures and be at rest. You are in a different place now – in my kingdom. Life isn’t like it was before when you walked without me and without my power. Trust me. Walk with me. I will show you my power in this.
With His words filling my ears, I realized my fear wasn’t real. It came from a dead past. When emotions like this arise that aren’t based on truth, it is our enemy warring against us. Whether, it is an external enemy or an internal one, seeking God’s face and truth is the answer. Fear is a successful tactic to keep us from moving forward. Whatever God is calling you to – embrace it as His will that will be done. Fill the spaces of fear with His promises. Don’t let fear keep you from experiencing His power in your life because you listened and followed fear instead of Him.
To stop and listen to the rhythms of life beneath all the noise is a lost art in our modern world. The voice of our inner spirit is suppressed by busyness, television, books, magazines, cell phones, pagers, email, competition, idle chatter and all we do to make ourselves feel worthy. Underneath the distractions is our spirit trying to be heard. The ramifications of silencing our guide is broken homes, dysfunctional children, physical aliments, depression, monotonous living, robotic spirituality, addictions, and spiritual blindness to name a few.
This truth has recently come to my attention. I am dealing with the consequences of not listening through various physical aliments. They are minor but it is clear to me the source is years of suppressing my spirit’s voice. I didn’t take time to listen but bulldozed through the years trusting medications and doctors instead of seeking inner counsel. Doctors can’t know the complexity of your emotions, your past experiences and everything that create your current physical state. Our body and soul are connected but yet we often act like they aren’t. God gave us a guide to build truth in the deepest part of our soul if we will listen. Truth that sets us free.
Lately I have been opening my ears and what He is telling me is incredible, I had no idea.
If we could go on the counsel and guidance of others then why would we need the Holy Spirit who was sent to teach us all things? We need to be listening to Him above all others and yet we have forgotten how to listen. Instead of listening to our spirit as our counselor we listen to others. We no longer make our own decisions, take time for inward reflection, and think for ourselves but rely on others to do these for us. Those in our circle of influence; media, family, co-workers, church leaders; tell us what to believe, to think, to trust, to do. These people are ill-equipped to guide anyone because they are just like us.
Matthew 23:8 “But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.”
When we tune into our spirit we tune into Him as well. Our impatience is driving us into the arms of some “Joe’s” philosophies. I don’t care how many initials are after his name or how nice he appears; he isn’t equipped to guide us as the Spirit is. It is the Spirit’s role and no one can fulfill it but Him. God constructed this world, the physical and spiritual elements, to work a certain way. Either we get clued in and do it His way or we miss out altogether and stay bound, blind, and dumb (in hearing and insight).
John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
God uses other people to encourage and help us. But our ears need to be in tune with the Spirit so we can discern what we hear, if it is truth or not and if it applies to us or not. If not, any good is mixed in with the bad and we are still seeing foggy. People are human, they make mistakes and they are learning just like we are. Like a doctor misdiagnosing a patient, others can give us the wrong diagnosis and remedy. We need a stronghold to test what we hear against whether it pertains to doctrine, health, work, relationships or whatever. That stronghold is the Spirit. I have gained more truth from listening to the Spirit than I ever have listening to man. Others add a little here and there crossing a t or dotting an i, but He opens up volumes of truth.
With modernization came isolation from our inner voice. We need to reorient our lives to create an atmosphere so we can hear. We need to be still, abide, and listen to what the Spirit is saying to each one of us. It is a conversation between you and Him, are you listening?
Living Light 