Following All of Jesus
and discerning the Holy Spirit's leading
If we are to follow Jesus, we must follow Jesus in his entirety. Not just the nice parts, but the parts that are uncomfortable or alarming. Here are some uncomfortable Jesus moments.
Jesus not leaving with the family caravan when it was time to leave Jerusalem and worrying his mother sick
Jesus saying that his mother and brothers were those who heard God’s word and did it, and not necessarily his biological family
Jesus calling the religious leaders a lot of unsavory names and confronting them about the duplicity of their teachings
Jesus paying the temple tax even though it was like paying money to himself
Jesus making a whip and driving out the money changers and merchants in the temple
Jesus so stressed out about the decision to die that he sweat blood
Jesus rubbing mud from spit on someone’s eyes to heal them
Jesus going off by himself a lot
Jesus weeping and expressing his emotions
Jesus doing things that the religious leaders said was wrong
Jesus growing rather unpopular and being accused of working for Satan
Jesus doing menial servant-like tasks for his disciples
Jesus spending lots of time all by himself in prayer
Jesus delegating and refraining from micro-managing
Jesus saying to his close friend, “Get behind him, Satan.” I believe he said this when Satan was tempting Jesus through Peter’s words about not having to suffer and die.
Jesus quietly submitting to being falsely accused, undergoing an unfair trial, and receiving capital punishment
If we are to follow Jesus, discerning God’s will through the Holy Spirit, we can expect to do some uncomfortable, awkward, and maybe even seemingly rude things. We might even find ourselves asking, “Really, Lord? Are you sure you want me to do that? You realize how that’ll look, right?”
Therefore, we probably need to practice discerning what the Holy Spirit says. Was that him or just me? Am I getting worked up with emotions or is the Lord trying to tell me something? Am I operating on a savior-mentality or is this energy from the Lord? Am I trying to establish my own kingdom or God’s kingdom?
Hearing from the Lord is something new to me. I have conversed with God since a young age, but most of my conversations have been one-sided. They resembled conversations with myself. However, things have been different since I fully surrendered my life to Christ in 2020. Words or answers to prayers or directions have come in various recognizable forms.
Often, I’m left breathlessly thinking, Holy Smokes! That’s the answer to what I was just asking the Lord. I think that person just gave me the answer.
It’s very cool, but also frightening as there have been instances when I mistook anger or fear or drama for God’s leading too. I’ve armed myself for a crusade only to realize later, Hmmm… I don’t think that was the Lord in me.
So I’m writing this checklist here to help me remember the characteristics of the Holy Spirit’s voice.
The Holy Spirit’s leading is always consistent with the character of God as revealed in the Bible.
The Holy Spirit’s direction doesn’t exalt human wisdom, strength, or passion above the Lord’s.
The Holy Spirit’s voice brings glory to God and results in gratitude in me.
It doesn’t leave me ashamed or self-righteous or proud.
It’s usually not something I could’ve made up myself.
It is the most loving thing to do for other people even if it might not make them very happy.
It doesn’t encourage objectives over people. It doesn’t use people as a means to accomplish an ends.
It takes God’s courage to carry out.
It makes me better able to live with my husband and children.
It makes me better able to do my duty today whatever that may be.
It reveals how Jesus is being made manifest in my flesh in the circumstances that I’m in.
That’s all I’ve got so far. Feel free to comment below if you think of things I’ve missed and I’ll add them to the checklist.