Ministrymaker Magazine

How can a Christian know if they are being led by the Spirit? I recently received this question from a Ministrymaker visitor. God wants us to be led by His Holy Spirit. This should be a major characteristic of a child of God (Romans 8:14). We should all seek and fine-tune ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God. Let’s look at a few tests as to whether we are being led by the Holy Spirit.

Is the direction we are taking consistent with the Word of God? The Holy Spirit doesn’t direct us contrary to His Word. He inspired the Word and therefore would not direct us contrary to it (2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:20-21). This is why we must hide His Word in our heart. When His Word is hid in our heart we will have a good sence whether we are being directed by the Spirit or not.

Is it contrary to our flesh? The Word says, “If you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:13-14 NKJV). The flesh is contrary to the Spirit. “The flesh sets its desire (wars) against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another” (Galatians 5:17 NASB). The Holy Spirit’s leading will almost always go against our flesh.

The witness of His Spirit. Paul continued writing, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:14-16 NKJV). There will be a crying out of the Holy Spirit from within us saying this is the way walk in it. We just know that we know the Holy Spirit is leading us.

The hard road. I remember years ago Dr. Paino, my mentor in the ministry, was preaching on this subject. He said after much contemplation he came to the following conclusion. If there were two roads to chose from, one road was a hard one and the other easy, the direction of the Holy Spirit would almost always be the hard road. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14 NASB).

Open doors (circumstances). Jesus said to the church of Philadelphia, “Behold, I have put before you an open door which no one can shut” (Revelation 3:8 NASB). God can open doors that no one can shut. This must be balanced with the witness of the Spirit and the hard road scenario. Circumstances should be only a small indicator of whether we are being led by the Holy Spirit. There are times when adverse circumstances are from the enemy because we are going in the right direction in order to hinder us. Only the voice of the Holy Spirit can give us proper discernment here.

Faith. It is important to note that there are no iron clad assurances. Ours is a life of faith. “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NASB). Even after Paul had a vision of going into Macedonia, it was still said, “Concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:10 NKJV). They were still stepping out in faith that the Holy Spirit was directing them. Nothing is conclusive. “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him” (Hebrews 10:30 KJV).

Prayer: Lord God, I pray you would help me to be sensitive to your Spirit in every situation. Help me to know when I am being directed by you and give me the faith to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen!