“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21-22 KJV
Eighteen month old Grant Smith, my grandson, is a learning machine . . . a sponge soaking up information from all around him. If we restrain him from one thing, he immediately focuses on something else. It’s as if he has an inner, driving force that directs him in his constant search for knowledge.
Sometimes he learns by falling down or off of something he has climbed on. Sometimes he learns by running into an object that doesn’t move. Other times he learns by parental guidance. Still, there are times that he doesn’t listen and continues to do, or touch, that which he has been told not to do or not to touch. It can be a difficult learning process.
For some unknown reason that I cannot comprehend, Grant learns by putting everything in his mouth. It’s as if he knows/thinks that taste will tell him everything about everything. Now, I know what you are thinking: He puts things in his mouth because that is an infant’s first source of satisfaction. While that may have some validity, I still insist that taste is a source of learning for him.
Like Grant’s spongy learning process, Christians also have a driving force behind us. Yes, there is faith. Yet, what is driving our faith. Faith is not passive. Faith is an action word. In fact, the New Testament writer said, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26 KJV). But sometimes, the world’s influence makes our walk in this life difficult.
Still, if like a child, we pick ourselves up and continue to turn left or right when the Spirit whispers those instructions in our ears, then our faith is alive. When He whispers, “this is the way, walk in it” and we step out in faith, success will follow as certain as night follows day. If we will listen, the Holy Spirit will teach and guide us.
Dear Father, thank you for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Instill in us the sensitivity to hear his voice and to immediately focus our attention on his directions. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today as you are taught by the Holy Spirit,