THE NEED TO BE LED BY THE SPIRIT We carry about within us a sinful nature that militates against the "law of our mind." As it is written, "but I see ANOTHER LAW at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members" (Rom 7:23, NIV). There are a number of affirmations in Scripture that plainly declare our need to be "led." "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer 10:23). It only takes involvement in the "good fight of faith" to confirm this is the case. Your fleshly resources quickly dissipate when put to the test. No person is saved to navigate on their own! We are brought into association with God through Christ because we NEEDED to be. Our own wisdom and works took us from God; only His wisdom and activity will enable us to complete the "race set before us." If you can see things from the higher point of view, God's direction becomes apparent. "A man's steps are ordered by the LORD; how then can man understand his way?" (Prov 20:24, RSV). -- Monday:
WE HAVE A SINFUL NATURE
We are in a world that is dominated by its "god" and "prince," Satan (2 Cor 4:4; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). This "prince" is our personal adversary, and wages aggressive and relentless war against us (1 Pet 5:8-9). Employing strategies that cannot be neutralized by human ingenuity or power, he sends out a flood of delusion to corrupt the thinking of the saints (Rev 12:15-16). Many a soul, unaware of the criticality of the situation, has been carried away with this flood, finally making "shipwreck of the faith" (1 Tim 1:19). These conditions require Divine guidance -- the leading of the Spirit.
Faith stabilizes us while we are in a realm destined for destruction. We are in a world that is going to "pass away." In Christ, however, we have "eternal life," and thus are not suited for a temporal realm. We are citizens of another world, and live in earnest expectation of being there. We, like the saints of old time, are "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Heb 11:13). We do not fit into this realm. Faith has, in fact, placed us at variance with it. This condition requires that we be "led" from on high.
Suffice it to say, it is inexcusable for one professing to be in Christ to fail to see "it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." This is an elementary truth, known before God reconciled the world to Himself in Christ Jesus. To fail to comprehend this basic component of truth now, indicates the heart is alienated from God -- for whatever reason!
David adds additional perspective to the matter. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way" (Psa 37:23). Our steps have been made firm, or "ordered," when we are able to navigate through life without being snared by the devices of Satan. If we are going to make it safely to the haven of ultimate rest, we will have to avoid the delusions of the devil, together with his snares, which are craftily placed in our path.
How are we able to accomplish this? Some imagine that if enough information is digested by our minds, we will be able to figure it all out. The academic approach to spiritual life has inundated the church like a gigantic rushing flood. The results the flood has yielded are testimony enough to the impotence of human wisdom! The personal history of our lives should once and for all establish the foolishness of the notion that men can direct their own steps. It makes little difference whether it is through a mentor, or some imagined path of wisdom. It is all vain!
Jeremiah speaks for every informed soul when he says, "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer 10:23). Humanity, redeemed or not, cannot operate independently of God. Salvation does not involve self-sufficiency or independence from the Lord. Rather, its power is found in identity with Him.
In spite of this, there are Deistic tendencies in much of the theology of our day. Deism supposes that God institutes necessary things -- whether the world or circumstance -- and then withdraws from the situation. If the "steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord," let us put behind us any thought of directing our own path; i.e. determining our own destiny independently of divine influence.
Some ways only seem right
There are ways that appear to be right, but are not. These are the ways of the devil, and they will snare every unsuspecting soul. Satan showed Eve a way that seemed to be right in Eden, but it was not. In spite of the inspired record of that event, many continued to be deluded into self-trust by the adversary. Hear the word of the Lord. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Prov 14:12). The "ways of death" are pathways that appear to be for our good, but which actually eventuate in separation from the Living God, which is the ultimate death.
Without being unduly mysterious, every decision you make will be from within the crucible of conflict. You will be confronted with right ways, and ways that only "seem" to be right. Life, with all of its conflicts and complexities, often compounds our decisions. It is then that Divine direction becomes precious. It is tragic to embrace a theology that leaves you on your own during these times.
The knowledge that we possess is not sufficient to direct us through the "valley of decision" (Joel 3:14). The reason for this situation should be obvious. Our knowledge is not the only thing involved. There are emotion, preference, will, and the fluctuating posture of the soul. The only thing that is absolutely reliable is our faith -- and that cannot stand in knowledge or any other human faculty. Faith is in God.
The possession of that faith makes us directable. God is greatly to be praised for not leaving us to our own devices. Our experience has taught us well how powerless we really are.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus I praise You for not leaving me to my own devices.