The Spirit and God's Will - Evangelical Caucus/Devotional

“‘“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances”’” (Ezekiel 36:27).

The Holy Spirit has always led and will continue to lead believers to know God’s will.

One of the Spirit’s most practical ministries is to help believers know and follow God’s will.

Ezekiel 36:27 plainly indicates that the Spirit has always been available to lead God’s people. And Isaiah reminds us, centuries before Ezekiel’s time, that the Lord “is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them, who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses” (Isa. 63:11-12).

The proceedings at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 wonderfully illustrate how the Spirit gave guidance to the New Testament church. The Council convened to determine what principles of conduct the Jewish-led early church should place on the many new Gentile converts who were now in the fellowship. After much prayerful discussion, the Council made the all-important decision that it was not necessary to adhere to Moses’ law as a means of salvation.

The Council set down its concise recommendations in a letter that was the result of a Spirit-led consensus among the apostles and elders: “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you [Gentiles] no greater burden than these essentials” (Acts 15:28). The leaders were confident that their decision was from the mind of the Holy Spirit as reflected in Scripture; therefore they knew it was correct and in accord with God’s will.

Romans 8:14, which says, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God,” encourages us that we also can be certain of the Spirit’s guidance. If we are faithful to hear, read, and study the Word, if we strive to obey it, and if we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, then He will guide us into God’s perfect will for our lives (see Ps. 119:105).

If you have an important decision to make, pray that you would have the discernment to know and follow God’s will. If no major decision faces you now, thank God that the Spirit is always present to provide guidance.

What does this say about the importance of God and His Word in knowing His will?

In a lifetime of enjoying poring over and meditating on God’s Word I have encountered several passages that puzzle me every time. So I ask for Holy Spirit guidance on the matter, and sometimes feel a bit more enlightened (if not fully requited).
At Kadesh-Barnea, God was displeased that some elders wanted to get a close-up look at the Promised Land. Next thing you know, God has Moses OK the reconnoiter. So I speculate as to what God might have been thinking; what kind of chess He may have been playing, etc., but nothing definitive. A few ideas come to me.
Yesterday, as I was reading Revelation 22:2 for the plentieth time when I was prompted to get clarity on “and the leaves (of the Tree of Life) were for the healing of the nations.”
As usual, I’m thinking: “Leaves for healing? Healing of what? This is Heaven, right? This is Paradise Regained, right? This is ultimate perfection, right? So what need is there for healing?”
This time I dropped everything, suspended my reading, and got on my knees at my “prayer-chair”; and I stayed there until I had, for the first time in my life, a very firm grasp of the import of leaves-for-healing-in-Heaven.
Since the soul-satisfying insight I received would probably be considered Dispensationalist, I’ll not share it here, as that hermeneutic is often controversial on this site.

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