Four ways God may lead you

Recently I started reading the book of Luke. Before I began, I prayed, “Lord, I’m asking You for a life-changing nugget or chunk of Truth from each chapter. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Wouldn’t you know it? He came through for me right off the bat. In the very first chapter of Luke, I discovered four ways God uses to lead us. He has other methods as well, but the four I found in Luke One are extremely helpful.

Before I launch into this, here’s a word of caution. God’s leading never violates His Word. If the direction you are seeking to take is contrary to the Bible, it’s not from God. Abort that plan!

Another tidbit: If someone speaks a prophetic “word” over you, you are not obliged to obey it, especially if it doesn’t confirm what the Lord has already shown you. A verse in the Amplified Classic is my rule of thumb concerning all things prophetically/supernaturally imparted: “And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds…]” (Colossians 3:15a).

1. …it seemed fitting…

“…it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order…” (Luke 1:3)

Luke was a physician who took it upon himself to thoroughly investigate the life and works of Jesus and to document it all in book form.

How did he come up with such a project? Was it through a prophetic utterance or an angelic visitation? No; he launched into his writing assignment because it seemed fitting to him!

Does that freak you out? Have you always thought you needed a “supernatural word” for something to be of God? I’m here to encourage you: If you’re born of God and submitted to Him, then those things that seem fitting to you are very likely from the Lord. Joyce Meyer has said that sometimes believers accomplish very little with their lives as they sit and wait for a word from God. She then adds, “God can’t steer a parked car! Get moving so He can actually steer you in the right direction.”

It seemed fitting to Dr. Luke to record the events of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. He wasn’t directed through a spectacular leading; God merely stepped in through Luke’s desire. And the result? He infused Luke’s writing with His anointing as he chronicled the miraculous events of the Lord’s life, including the now-familiar details surrounding the birth of Christ.

When something seems fitting to you, go ahead and step out. Obviously, you will need to keep listening for direction from Him as you go…and always give Him veto power. Barring any redirection, go ahead—step out. You’re being scriptural just like Dr. Luke!

2.   …while he was performing his priestly service…

“Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division…an angel of the Lord appeared to him…” (Luke 1:8; 11a)

One way God shows up in your life to deposit direction is while you—like Zacharias—perform your priestly service before God! Yes, this does apply to you! He supports godly consistency in your daily life. Do you volunteer regularly in your local church? Do you have a practice of prayer, Bible reading, or ministering to the Lord and others in your private life? Then keep it up! God is working with you, and as you go, don’t be surprised when He drops a truth or guidance “bomb” on you…just because you’re faithful to “show up”!

3. …and…was filled with the Holy Spirit…

“…and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said…” (Luke 1:41-42). “And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying…” (Luke 1:67).

Another, more spectacular way, God may choose to lead you is to fill you with the Holy Spirit—instantly—for a specific task, which usually involves speaking out under the anointing of God.

Saul experienced something like this before he became king. First Samuel 19:23 records, “He proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah.”

This kind of filling with the Holy Spirit is instantaneous and never human-initiated. God simply sees fit from time to time to overshadow a person, filling them with a specific “dosing” of the Holy Ghost, and to use their mouth for a specific purpose.

Of course, He will neither violate His Word with such an utterance, nor will He use someone else to impose direction on you that goes against what He’s already shown you. Remember the Amplified Classic version of Colossians 3:15 and let His peace and His Word be your umpire.

One caution: Just because you or someone else has been used in the instantaneous filling of the Holy Spirit for the purpose of prophetic utterance, it doesn’t mean that everything you or they say from there on out is prophetic. First John 4:1 not only gives you the permission, but also the responsibility, to test such things. The apostle Paul wrote concerning prophetic utterances. …examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). In other words, not everything that is called prophetic is prophetic!

As someone who has experienced this kind of filling with the Holy Spirit for the purpose of speaking out a specific word, I am very aware that it is often exhilarating to be used of God this way…and that very exhilaration leads to another caution:

Don’t get addicted to the feeling of being used by God! He uses you not to give you a rush or a high or to pad your spiritual resume; instead, He uses you to carry out a task or to impart a specific word to help someone else. That’s it; nothing more. You are still you; you still possess every single flaw and wart after delivering a prophetic word that you had before you stepped out. You are still required as a Christian to continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12b).

If you refuse to “make up a word” just to achieve the “high” of being use of God, then you will be better positioned to receive the “real McCoy” from the Lord when He sees fit—and you’ll know it when it comes! People will be helped and God’ll get the glory. Keep this in mind as you seek to be used by Him.

4. Obedience to God’s Word

“…it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father.  But his mother answered and said, ‘No indeed; but he shall be called John’…And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, ‘His name is John.’ And they were all astonished. And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God” (Luke 1:59-60; 62-64).

Way back when the angel appeared to him while he was serving in the temple, Zacharias was told about this child. But now he had big troubles…you see, he had questioned the veracity of that angelic word and was instantly silenced. Muted. Not able to say a word…and his pie hole had been out of commission for over nine months!

But God, in His goodness, made a way for Zacharias to redeem himself and show himself faithful to the original directive from the Lord.

When people pushed Elizabeth to name the child Zacharias, she insisted he be called John in accordance with the word given to her husband. Her voice was overridden by the people, however, who turned to Zacharias for his ruling.

“And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, ‘His name is John’” (verse 63). No longer a doubter, Zacharias proved his submission to the heavenly word when he wrote on the tablet the name given in the original angelic proclamation.

As a result of Zacharias’ obedience, not only was his voice restored, but he was also filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied detailed intel from the Lord concerning his newborn and the One whose way he would prepare.

In your life, have you encountered seasons of “muteness”, silence, or nothing going on? Perhaps God is granting you a breather; but perhaps something else is going on. Maybe somewhere down the road you disobeyed Him: maybe you neglected to step out in something He told you to do; maybe you stepped out into something He told you not to do.

Ask Him to show you what’s going on—and He will. In the Old Testament, a young man once lost an axe head in the river while a group of them were clearing land. Elisha the prophet asked him where he was working when the axe head went missing; when the youth took the prophet to that spot, Elisha threw a chunk of wood into the river….and the axe head floated to the surface! (See 2 Kings 6.)

This is the “axe head principle”. The axe head represents God’s will for you. Its loss is an illustration of what happens when you deviate from God’s purpose—you end up feeling lost or out of place. So, like Zacharias, when you go back to the “spot” you last moved in the will of God, and once again you obey what He told you back then, you recapture the “axe head”, you resume your stable walk, you regain your voice, and the purpose of God will once again direct your life.

The first chapter of Luke illustrates four of the ways God leads His people. Despite how varied they are, the common thread that weaves them together is this: Our part is always to maintain a submitted heart before God. Whether the leadings He brings to you are spectacular or not, understand this: “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6).

Dorothy

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3; NIV

 

© 2017, Dorothy Frick