Recently I started reading the book of Luke. Before I began, I prayed, \u201cLord, I\u2019m asking You for a life-changing nugget or chunk of Truth from each chapter. In Jesus\u2019 name, Amen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wouldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Before I launch into this, here\u2019s a word of caution. God\u2019s leading never<\/em> violates His Word. If the direction you are seeking to take is contrary to the Bible, it\u2019s not from God. Abort that plan!<\/p>\n Another tidbit: If someone speaks a prophetic \u201cword\u201d over you, you are not<\/em> obliged to obey it, especially if it doesn\u2019t 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: \u201cAnd 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\u2026]<\/em>\u201d (Colossians 3:15a).<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order<\/em>\u2026\u201d (Luke 1:3)<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/em> it seemed fitting<\/em> to him<\/em><\/strong>!<\/em><\/p>\n Does that freak you out? Have you always thought you needed a \u201csupernatural word\u201d for something to be of God? I\u2019m here to encourage you: If you\u2019re born of God and submitted to Him, then those things that seem fitting to you<\/em> 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, \u201cGod can\u2019t steer a parked car! Get moving so He can actually steer you in the right direction.”<\/p>\n It seemed fitting<\/em> to Dr. Luke to record the events of Jesus\u2019 life, death, and resurrection. He wasn\u2019t directed through a spectacular leading; God merely stepped in through Luke\u2019s desire. And the result? He infused Luke\u2019s writing with His anointing as he chronicled the miraculous events of the Lord\u2019s life, including the now-familiar details surrounding the birth of Christ.<\/p>\n When something seems fitting to you<\/em>, go ahead and step out. Obviously, you will need to keep listening for direction from Him as you go\u2026and always<\/em> give Him veto power. Barring any redirection, go ahead\u2014step out. You\u2019re being scriptural just like Dr. Luke!<\/p>\n 2. \u00a0 \u2026while he was performing his priestly service<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cNow it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division\u2026an angel of the Lord appeared to him\u2026<\/em>\u201d (Luke 1:8; 11a)<\/p>\n One way God shows up in your life to deposit direction is while you\u2014like Zacharias\u2014perform your priestly service before God<\/em>! Yes, this does<\/em> 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 \u201cbomb\u201d on you…just because you’re faithful to “show up\u201d!<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said\u2026<\/em>\u201d (Luke 1:41-42). \u201cAnd his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying<\/em>\u2026\u201d (Luke 1:67).<\/p>\n Another, more spectacular way, God may choose to lead you is to fill you with the Holy Spirit\u2014instantly\u2014for a specific task, which usually involves speaking out under the anointing of God.<\/p>\n Saul experienced something like this before he became king. First Samuel 19:23 records, \u201cHe 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<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n This kind of filling with the Holy Spirit is instantaneous and never<\/em> human-initiated. God simply sees fit from time to time to overshadow a person, filling them with a specific \u201cdosing\u201d of the Holy Ghost, and to use their mouth for a specific purpose.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s already shown you. Remember the Amplified Classic version of Colossians 3:15 and let His peace and His Word be your umpire.<\/p>\n 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\u2019t<\/em> 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. \u2026examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good<\/em>\u201d (1 Thessalonians 5:21). In other words, not everything that is called <\/em>prophetic is<\/em> prophetic!<\/p>\n 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\u2026and that very exhilaration leads to another caution:<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get addicted to the feeling <\/strong>of being used by God!<\/em> He uses you not<\/em> 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\u2019s it; nothing more. You are still you; you still possess every single flaw and wart after<\/em> 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 <\/em>(Philippians 2:12b).<\/p>\n If you refuse to \u201cmake up a word\u201d just to achieve the “high” of being use of God, then you will be better positioned to receive the \u201creal McCoy\u201d from the Lord when He sees fit\u2014and you\u2019ll know it when it comes! People will be helped and God\u2019ll get the glory. Keep this in mind as you seek to be used by Him.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father.<\/em> \u00a0<\/sup>But his mother answered and said, \u2018No indeed; but he shall be called John\u2019\u2026And they made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, \u2018His name is John.\u2019 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<\/em>\u201d (Luke 1:59-60; 62-64).<\/p>\n 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 <\/em>troubles\u2026you see, he had questioned the veracity of that angelic word and was instantly silenced. Muted. Not able to say a word\u2026and his pie hole had been out of commission for over nine months!<\/p>\n But God, in His goodness, made a way for Zacharias to redeem himself and show himself faithful to the original directive from the Lord.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, \u2018His name is John<\/em>\u2019\u201d (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.<\/p>\n As a result of Zacharias\u2019 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.<\/p>\n In your life, have you encountered seasons of \u201cmuteness\u201d, 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<\/em> to do.<\/p>\n Ask Him to show you what\u2019s going on\u2014and 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\u2026.and the axe head floated to the surface! (See 2 Kings 6.)<\/p>\n This is the “axe head principle”. The axe head represents God\u2019s will for you. Its loss is an illustration of what happens when you deviate from God\u2019s purpose\u2014you end up feeling lost or out of place. So, like Zacharias, when you go back to the \u201cspot\u201d you last moved in the will of God, and once again you obey what He told you back then, you recapture the \u201caxe head\u201d, you resume your stable walk, you regain your voice, and the purpose of God will once again direct your life.<\/p>\n 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<\/em> to maintain a submitted heart before God. Whether the leadings He brings to you are spectacular or not, understand this: \u201cIn all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight<\/em>\u201d (Proverbs 3:6).<\/p>\n Dorothy<\/p>\n Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.<\/em> Proverbs 16:3; NIV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a9 2017, Dorothy Frick<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently I started reading the book of Luke. Before I began, I prayed, \u201cLord, I\u2019m asking You for a life-changing nugget or chunk of Truth from each chapter. In Jesus\u2019 name, Amen.\u201d Wouldn\u2019t you know it? He came through for me right off the bat. 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