Choose to Follow the Spirit

by Laura Springer, Th.M., Ph.D

Key Passage: Ephesians 5:15-21

Supplementary Passages:  John 14:15-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; 12:7–11, 12–27; Romans 12:4–8; 1 Peter 2:4–5 ; 4:10–11; Ephesians 4:15–16

 

Decision-making can be hard, leading us to take shortcuts. We look to ourselves and make choices based on preferences or guesses or culture rather than God and his wisdom. We give control to lesser things. Continually looking to ourselves leaves us with an increasingly dulled ability to see God’s point of view. Choosing just gets harder.

 

Handing over control. Giving control to lesser things, to that which dulls our capacities, is foolish self-indulgence. Our God-given mission to make disciples is too important for us to waste time trusting ourselves when we could be trusting the Spirit. Wisdom is found in obeying Jesus, who commands us to live wisely by submitting to the Spirit, the one who gives, empowers, and guides our abilities as we do God’s work in the world.

 

Outcomes of trust. Continually giving the Spirit control aligns our praise and gratitude with Christ and his mission. It helps us encourage and submit to our fellow believers. When we give control over to the Spirit, he changes our thinking, feeling, and doing. He makes gratitude a way of life. He teaches us to worship God from the core of our being, whether alone or gathered with our fellow believers. He teaches us to address one another in words that bring God glory and to submit to our brothers and sisters, even when it’s hard.

 

So, whether faced with simple choices or impossible decisions, let us hit pause on seeking our own wisdom, and seek God’s face together. Let us submit together to the Spirit, who opens up our capacity in Christ, enabling us to make wise decisions toward missional actions. Let us partner with the Spirit, putting his grace gifts to good use in our life together as the body of Christ at TFB. Let each of us and all of us together take up the responsibility to follow the Spirit’s commands, while teaching one another to do so.