Progression
When we begin following the Lord, He makes it easy for us to know His will. After some time, however, God expects us to mature enough to know what He wants for us without Him having to spell it out. He led the children of Israel to the promised land with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Once they arrived at the promised land, however, he removed the visual aids and expected them to remember what it felt like to be led by Him.
After conquering Jericho, Israel proceeded to wage war against Ai. Their confidence was high and they were eager to continue in the conquest that God had started them on. What they failed to realize is that they had left the Lord in Jericho. The Lord commanded Israel not to take any spoils from Jericho. One man took valuables and buried them under his tent. This disobedience caused all of Israel to be guilty and thus unqualified for Godly intervention. The worst sin was going forward without checking if God was still with them. This resulted in the loss of many lives.
Feeling His Presence
The way God leads us will vary, but the way His presence feels will never change. Before making any critical decisions, make sure God is with you. Remember back to how it felt when you knew you were being led by God. If four people were to describe exactly what that felt like to them, we would likely hear four different explanations. One might say, “ I felt so safe and secure like I was under the wing of God. Another would explain that she felt a great degree of certainty and knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was the right thing to do. Someone else would say that what being in the will of God felt like to him was knowing that what he was doing was going to bring everyone joy. Then someone else still would describe her experience as a deep sense of doing the greater good for all mankind. Your experience could have been something totally different than these examples, but the important thing is remembering what following God feels like to you. Once you know what it feels like to follow Him, you can become much more efficient in moving toward your goals.
Dream, conflict, overcome
He begins leading you by placing desires in your heart. He will then create an opportunity for you to acquire the desired thing. Once you begin walking towards your desires, an obstacle will come into view. Your flesh will try to convince you that it’s not worth the hassle. Your spirit will long to be in the will of God.
David had a vision to marry the King's daughter. He saw that the way to obtain this dream was to defeat Goliath. The first obstacle he encountered was nay-sayers telling him that he was underqualified for such a task. He shrugged off the discouragement of the skeptics but was soon faced with another obstacle. The armour he was to use in battle, did not fit. He had a good excuse to back out of the fight. He probably thought to himself, “ No one will blame me if I change my mind now.”
Instead of taking the out, David encouraged himself and the skeptics by recalling the time that he defended his father's flock from a lion and another time from a bear. Stating, “This giant will suffer the same fate as they did.”
Choose your battle
The toughest part of being led by God is determining when you are being led by your flesh and when you are being led by the Spirit. The easiest part about being led by God is following Him once you know it is He who is leading you. When you know you are fighting alongside God instead of against Him, can rest assured that it is a winning battle. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
Written By Mike Verdin