None Shall Pass!!

There are some things that are hard to understand about the Christian faith, while other things seem to be quite obvious. Then there are those nebulous things that no one will ever fully understand. Such is the Holy Spirit of God.

Have you ever tried going somewhere and seemingly been stopped at every traffic light. Later, you arrive on the scene of an accident and think, "That could have been me."

Something like that happened to me a few years ago. On my way to work in the pre-dawn darkness. Suddenly . . . a deer! I was going 72 mph when the deer hit me. My car was totaled! I, however, did not have a scratch. 72 miles an hour. Nothing. God's hand of protection? Could be.

When I think of the Holy Spirit I am at first reminded of "spirit-like" movie characters and mentors like Gandalf and Obi-Wan Kenobi. When THEY spoke, people listened.

"You shall go to the Dagobah System. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me."

"None shall pass!!!"

I believe that God watches over His children. I also believe that God directs our paths as we walk through this world. He arranges meetings, causes us to "feel" like doing things we otherwise would not have done. I can't prove any of this but there is evidence of it in The Bible.

"6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them." - Acts 16:6-10

Is there something you are being called to do? And how do we know it's God's Holy Spirit leading us and not some other spirit? Or indigestion?

What happens if we ignore God's call? What if we try our hardest NOT to pay attention to the yearnings? What if we are comfortable right where we are and don't want to risk losing the things we have worked so hard to obtain? We might as well ask, "What if we deliberately disobey God?"

Are you sensitive to God's leading? I am beginning to recognize it, more so by looking at past events than anything else. But after a while one begins to recognize it, and delight in the ability to see it. Now, if we would just have the courage to follow Him, completely. What's that Jesus said?

"24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?" - Matthew 16:24-26

Ouch.

Let us follow and not doubt. Let us take bold steps in obedience to God's calling.

The Potter's Hand - Darlene Zschech
You Shall Go - Obi-Wan Kenobi