For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. – Romans 8:14-15a
Though my mother is generally a very capable woman, I have a few fairly scarring memories in my pre-teen years that led to me becoming extremely pedantic about taking note of where we’d parked the car and which entrance we had used when at any shopping centre. I guess I should thank my mother because I have only ever lost my car once in a carpark (and it was at the long term airport carpark, so I feel that was justified!).
I was an integral part of my mother’s navigation system. Over time, after many instances of questioning and second-guessing my directions, she came to trust my sense implicitly and just followed wherever I led.
In life, not just in carparks, we come to trust certain sources for leadership and direction. You might have a builder friend who gives you DIY advice, or finance friend to whom you go to for investment tips. We grow in our trust as their advice or opinion proves true, but you’d be unlikely to go to your finance friend for DIY advice or your builder friend for investment tips. You stay within their area of expertise.
As Christians, Paul says here, we are led by the Holy Spirit. If you’ve been a Christian or around Christians for any length of time, I’m sure you’ve heard this concept. But perhaps the concept hasn’t really been explained to you. What does it mean to be led by the Spirit? What are we relying on Him to do, exactly? Where is He leading us to?
Perhaps one of the main ways that Christians ask the Spirit to lead is in major (or even minor) life decisions. What course should I study? Where should I live? Who should I marry? Which job should I take? It isn’t wrong to ask these questions of the Spirit and to seek guidance and counsel, and the Spirit does seem to answer clearly at least some of the time, but the sense of these verses gives us a different understanding of how the Spirit leads.
Firstly, note that verse 14 begins with “for”, indicating a tight causal link with the Spirit’s power as we mortify the misdeeds of the body. The Spirit leads us in sanctification. This is where the Spirit will always answer clearly, if we are listening. The main way He leads us is as we read the Bible. The Holy Spirit opens our eyes to understand the truths of God and convicts us of our sin, leading us and empowering us to grow and change.
Early last week, we saw that Jesus was so concerned with our sanctification that He took our condemnation so that we would be able to grow in holiness. Here, we see that the Holy Spirit is the one who will lead us in that sanctification. God’s chief and primary concern for us is our character growth whatever our circumstance.
I am not saying that the Holy Spirit never leads us in other ways, but if His chief concern is our character, then perhaps our priorities and perspective might require adjustment. In my own life, I know that my concern is much more for the circumstances of my life than the character of my heart, and my prayer life (which is asking the Spirit!) tends to be about that sort of leading. To reiterate, there is nothing wrong with prayer about the circumstances of life; the issue is one of priority.
Do you tend to pray for a stressful work situation to end, or for growth in patience and learning to love difficult people?
Do you tend to pray for more money to relieve financial stress, or for growth in humility and learning contentment in all situations?
Do you tend to pray that God will give you a good spouse (or make your spouse better!), or for your development so you will be a Godly person able to bless others whether single or married?
How can we reorder our priorities so that our character is more important than our circumstance? Here also, is where the Spirit leads. He shows us who we are, our new identities, as children of God. We are no longer slaves to fear, whose lives are uncertain, who have nothing and have to fight for everything; we are children of God, secure in the love and protection of God. We are heirs to the estate of our Father. We live in abundance, not scarcity. We don’t need to fight for anything. How could any change our circumstances really improve our state?
You are a child of God, chosen by Him to be adopted into His family. He is your Father. This is a relationship that is completely secure. You are now one with the authority of your Father’s house. You are now one with the honour of your Father’s name. You have done nothing to earn or deserve your adoption, you have simply received it by the Holy Spirit, who both makes effective your adoption and bring the truth of it to life in your heart.
Have you been trying to bring God into alignment with your priorities? How is the Spirit leading you to grow in holiness in your current circumstances?
You are not alone. You have been adopted into the family of God. Not only will He never leave you or forsake you, not only has He come to live in you through the Holy Spirit, but He has placed you in a community of believers who are all on this journey, being led in sanctification. We are here also to support an encourage each other, to speak truth to each other, to love each other and rejoice as we grow more and more like Jesus.
Prayer focus:
- Praise God that we do not live in fear, but in full assurance of His love
- Pray that we would grow to love holiness
- Pray that, as a church family, we would help each other to grow in holiness. Pray that our priorities, corporately, would be aligned with God’s desires for us.
