Is This The Holy Spirit?

CALL TO PRAYER

By: Stephen Osei Kuffour

Date: 05.02.2023

Title: Is This The Holy Spirit?

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

 (Matthew 4:1 NKJV)

I say this to the Glory of God that I have read the New Testament Books several times and the Gospels, many times. I have also meditated on them and even used most of the Scriptures in my Sermons. However, a couple of days ago I was reading the Gospel according to Matthew, and one Verse really struck me. Right from the beginning of Chapter 4, I read that the Holy Spirit led our Lord Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. What did I just read? So, the Holy Spirit is the one who led Jesus into the wilderness knowing that the devil was waiting for Him over there. Why didn’t the Holy Spirit lead Him to a different place where He wouldn’t have encountered the devil?

The Holy Spirit may sometimes direct you onto a difficult path or ask you to do something that may look a bit strange. You may even doubt if that’s actually the Lord speaking to you or the evil one. It may not be an easy assignment; it may not be a smooth path but that’s what the Lord may use to lead you to a perfect end. There are various reasons why the Lord may lead us on a difficult path. One of them is to strengthen our Faith and build a character in us (Rom 5:3-5).

David was not afraid to stand before Goliath because he had been fighting dangerous Bears in the wilderness and the Lord had given him victory over all of them (1 Sam 17). Kenneth Hagin, a great man of God was known for his strong Faith. This is because when he was young, he became sick to the point of death and the Lord healed him.

I once heard someone say that if your decision leads you to a place where you seem to be comfortable, and without any problems, it shows that the decision was influenced by the Holy Spirit. However, the above Scripture shows that it may not always be the case. Joseph had to experience various Trials and difficult situations until he became a Governor in Egypt. One might have even thought that he was cursed but that was all the doing of the Lord (Gen 37-41).

The way the Lord works may sometimes look a bit strange to us. This is because His ways are not our ways, and His Thoughts are far beyond what our minds can comprehend (Is 55:8-9). He is a mighty God who always knows the end from the Beginning (Is 46:10). Though we may sometimes not understand His ways of working, we know that He loves us and wants the best for us. Even when He leads us on a difficult path, we are confident that He knows best and will surely work things together for our good (Rom 8:28).

Beloved in the Lord, God may sometimes lead us on a path that may be difficult to the extent that we may even doubt if that’s His doing or the evil one. Let’s, therefore, build a good relationship with the Lord and be highly sensitive to the Holy Spirit so we may know His ways. Let’s also trust and be confident in Him knowing that He loves us and will always work everything for our good.

Prayer Point:

Let’s thank God for His Word today. Let’s ask the Lord to help all Believers to be highly sensitive to the leading of the Spirit. Let’s ask the Lord to give Believers the desire to build a strong relationship with Him so we may know His ways.

God bless you all