Following the Holy Spirit
“If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” –Galatians 5:25
In step—a cool concept. Throughout most of my life as a Christian I never really asked myself what it actually meant to walk in step with the Holy Spirit. I assumed it meant that in every moment I was to be absolutely aware of where the Holy Spirit was leading me and obedient to his promptings. I have allowed myself to carry a pretty big burden because of that belief. I have felt a self-imposed pressure of always having to know what the Lord wants me to do, and I have seen myself believe that in every moment there is something God wants from me and I have to figure it out.
But the truth is that I won’t always be aware of what God is up to or how he wants to work through me. Some of my favorite moments where God has used me to minister to people have been the times where I wasn’t even aware that what I said or did was significant until the person told me later. I have said things in normal conversations with friends that turned out to be impactful and just the prophetic word they needed. I have happened to be at the right place at the right time to bring joy, peace, kindness, and compassion—all without my knowledge, and honestly, without much effort on my part. And this was all because I was walking in step with the Holy Spirit, giving him the space to flow freely through me and not striving to accomplish what he has already said he will accomplish.
Walking in step with the Holy Spirit. When God’s feet move, so do mine. When his hand moves, so does mine. I won’t always be aware that God is doing something through me, and that’s actually pretty cool. If I’m living my life in step with the Spirit then I will always be a vessel. I will take peace with me wherever I go. I will always carry compassion. I will overflow with joy. I will love in extraordinary ways. And it’s the Holy Spirit who does it through me. I don’t have to feel this pressure to always be certain I’m accomplishing something. It doesn’t mean I don’t ever have to do anything, but it does mean that I don’t have to be burdened by my self-imposed obligations.
I’ve hardly scratched the surface of this lesson in my own life but something tells me it’s a game changer and I’m excited to see how it continues unfolding.
