Capable
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Romans 8:14-17
As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God… so, every single Christian is led by the Holy Spirit. We are more than led, search farther, you find that we are indwelled by the very Spirit of God, who bears witness with our spirit. He teaches, guides, comforts, counsels, and the list goes on. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the truths of the Bible, and can lead us in our Christian walk here on earth. How do you know if that feeling, that leading you have is from the Holy Spirit? Study and prayer. The Holy Spirit will never ask you to do anything contrary to the Word of God.
Following the leading of the Holy Spirit isn’t always easy. Many times it involves doing things that makes us uncomfortable. It seems like we should all be willing to do whatever He asks of us. In fact, many of us made promises to do “Whatever You ask…” as we prayed for our very salvation. We believe that He created the universe. We believe that His Son came to earth, was born of a virgin, lived a perfect life, died to save us from our sins, and rose from the grave. But for some reason, we don’t believe He is capable of giving us the words to say to a lost person, or to uplift our church family, or that He is capable of using our frail vocal cords in a way that brings Him glory?
I have a ton of problems in this area. This post comes at the end of a week of me doubting that this is what I should share. How can I share anything about a subject in which I am an abject failure? I have ignored the leading of the Holy Spirit. I haven’t done things that I feel certain He has asked me to do. Why? Not because I doubt the leading of the Lord, but because I doubt my ability to do it right. I can have the absolute full understanding that I am asked to act in a certain way, and yet, I question the Creator of the Universe, “Are You sure?” I question God like he knows less about the situation than I do… I’m sure he’s picking the wrong person. The list of sins and failures I keep at the ready in my mind is long and detailed. However, my true failure comes in my inability to trust Him to attain His will through my feeble efforts. Read that last sentence again.. I don’t trust God because I think somehow I’m going to mess up His plan. It seems sort of ridiculous, even to me, upon reading it back.
Many times, I have been prodded to witness to someone, testify, or even sing a particular song, and I just don’t do it. My heart pounds, and I hang my head in shame. How many blessings have I missed by failing to do what I’ve been asked to do? Countless…It’s a sad feeling to feel led to sing a certain song, be disobedient to that leading and then sit through a sermon that makes it abundantly clear that the song would have went right along with the sermon. On the occasions that I am obedient, it’s such a blessing to be in the will of God and follow His lead. God’s will will be done on earth, we saw that when God asked Moses to speak for him, and then allowed Aaron to join him because of Moses’ fear. God asked Moses to do it by himself, but when he persistently doubted his own ability to do it, God allowed Moses help,. Who was the one who missed out on a blessing in this situation?
The important thing for us to remember is this: We serve a God who is capable. Capable of using our mess to show His power. Capable of giving us the words we need to say through the Holy Spirit. Capable of creating beauty from our failures. All we need to do, is get ourselves out of the way.
