Reversing our Neglect of the Holy Spirit
~ A.W. Tozer
Have you ever found yourself pondering the following question: “What is God’s will for my life?” Over the years, this is a query I have found myself wondering about on more than one occasion. I take solace in the fact there are very few people found in the Bible who received their life plan in advance, or even their five-year plan for that matter. Take Abraham for example, who was told by God to pack up his family and possessions and start walking. He had no idea where he was going, and no idea if he was ever coming back. God said: “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) So Abraham went, and that is pretty much all he knew. As I have grown in my faith I have come to the realization that God cares more about my response to His Spirit’s leading today, in this moment, than about what I intend to do over the next several years. In fact, the decisions I make about the future will be profoundly affected by the degree to which I submit to the Spirit right now, in today’s decisions. So why do we sometimes struggle trying to understand God’s will for our lives? Perhaps we use it as an excuse. Example: It is much less demanding to think about God’s will for our future than it is to ask Him what He wants us to do in the next ten minutes. It’s safer to commit to following Him someday instead of this day. We forget that we were never promised a twenty-year plan of action; instead, God promises multiple times in Scripture never to leave or forsake us. God wants us to listen to His Spirit on a daily basis, as difficult moments occur, and in the midst of the mundane. My desire is instead of searching for “God’s will for my life,” I would learn to seek hard after the Spirit’s leading in my life today. To learn to pray for an open and willing heart, to surrender to His Spirit’s leading with that friend, child, student, spouse, circumstance, or decision in our lives right now.
To say that we are not called to figure out “God’s will for my life” does not mean God doesn’t have a purpose and plan for each of our lives, or that He doesn’t care what we do with our lives. He does. In fact, He tells us multiple times about this throughout the Old and New Testaments. The key is that He never promises to reveal those purposes all at once, or in advance. He calls us to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. In Galatians Chapter 5 Paul writes: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh….If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:16,25)
Does the phrase keeping in step with the Spirit affect your life in a meaningful and practical way? As mentioned earlier, when we dwell on God’s plan for our lives, it excuses us from faithful and sacrificial living now. It is similar to encouragement we give to our student-athletes on focusing on the process instead of the results. The more result oriented I become, it takes our eyes off the process. Likewise, the more focused we are on God’s plan for our lives, we lose sight of Him in our daily walk. He desires for us to be intentional about following Him daily, serving Him in everything we do. Nowhere in Scripture does it say we are to live a “balanced life with a little bit of God added in” as an ideal for us to emulate. He sent His one and only Son to die for us, so that we could forget everything else and follow Him to the cross, to true Life.
Do you empathize with some of these thoughts? If so, maybe you are interested in making some changes to find ways to make Him a part of your daily routine more than He is now. A few months ago I had the opportunity to read a book by Mark Batterson entitled Win the Day. In this book, he talks about 7 daily habits to help you stress less and accomplish more. My hope is you will find as much encouragement in this book as I did. Blessings to each of you as you work to allow His Spirit to move in each of your lives.
Have you ever found yourself pondering the following question: “What is God’s will for my life?” Over the years, this is a query I have found myself wondering about on more than one occasion. I take solace in the fact there are very few people found in the Bible who received their life plan in advance, or even their five-year plan for that matter. Take Abraham for example, who was told by God to pack up his family and possessions and start walking. He had no idea where he was going, and no idea if he was ever coming back. God said: “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1) So Abraham went, and that is pretty much all he knew. As I have grown in my faith I have come to the realization that God cares more about my response to His Spirit’s leading today, in this moment, than about what I intend to do over the next several years. In fact, the decisions I make about the future will be profoundly affected by the degree to which I submit to the Spirit right now, in today’s decisions. So why do we sometimes struggle trying to understand God’s will for our lives? Perhaps we use it as an excuse. Example: It is much less demanding to think about God’s will for our future than it is to ask Him what He wants us to do in the next ten minutes. It’s safer to commit to following Him someday instead of this day. We forget that we were never promised a twenty-year plan of action; instead, God promises multiple times in Scripture never to leave or forsake us. God wants us to listen to His Spirit on a daily basis, as difficult moments occur, and in the midst of the mundane. My desire is instead of searching for “God’s will for my life,” I would learn to seek hard after the Spirit’s leading in my life today. To learn to pray for an open and willing heart, to surrender to His Spirit’s leading with that friend, child, student, spouse, circumstance, or decision in our lives right now.
To say that we are not called to figure out “God’s will for my life” does not mean God doesn’t have a purpose and plan for each of our lives, or that He doesn’t care what we do with our lives. He does. In fact, He tells us multiple times about this throughout the Old and New Testaments. The key is that He never promises to reveal those purposes all at once, or in advance. He calls us to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. In Galatians Chapter 5 Paul writes: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh….If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:16,25)
Does the phrase keeping in step with the Spirit affect your life in a meaningful and practical way? As mentioned earlier, when we dwell on God’s plan for our lives, it excuses us from faithful and sacrificial living now. It is similar to encouragement we give to our student-athletes on focusing on the process instead of the results. The more result oriented I become, it takes our eyes off the process. Likewise, the more focused we are on God’s plan for our lives, we lose sight of Him in our daily walk. He desires for us to be intentional about following Him daily, serving Him in everything we do. Nowhere in Scripture does it say we are to live a “balanced life with a little bit of God added in” as an ideal for us to emulate. He sent His one and only Son to die for us, so that we could forget everything else and follow Him to the cross, to true Life.
Do you empathize with some of these thoughts? If so, maybe you are interested in making some changes to find ways to make Him a part of your daily routine more than He is now. A few months ago I had the opportunity to read a book by Mark Batterson entitled Win the Day. In this book, he talks about 7 daily habits to help you stress less and accomplish more. My hope is you will find as much encouragement in this book as I did. Blessings to each of you as you work to allow His Spirit to move in each of your lives.
Author: Royce Slechta, Athletic Department
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