Spirit Lead Me

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14

Birds chirping. Hot coffee. The crisp, fresh morning air of autumn. Today, I am thankful for the opportunity to slow down and reflect. These past few months have been amazing and an adventure that only the Lord could have orchestrated. The time passed by so quickly, yet the Lord moved in immeasurable ways.

A few weeks ago, I was journaling in my hotel room before going to bed. I was talking with the Lord about what would be next on this adventure. The plans that had been laid before me would only cover the next two weeks and then I was headed back into the unknown. Although I have become more comfortable in the unknowns over the past few years, an eagerness still grows within me to be shown at least a hint of what is to come.

Throughout the past two months, I have been overwhelmed by the goodness of God nearly day after day. He has opened my eyes to so many of those little blessings on the path of my every day, though I am sure that there are still many that I have overlooked. He has sustained me, comforted me, surrounded me and lifted me in new ways. And on one day in particular, He met me with a feeling that I have only experienced that immensely one other time in my life. A feeling of, “you have been created for this exact thing.”  

It was a few weeks later when I was journaling to the Lord in my hotel room.

“Honestly God, it’s so hard to be patient in the waiting when I know the places in which I have experienced that feeling. I want to throw myself into those spaces, but I know that your ways are better than my ways and your thoughts higher than my thoughts. Father, I thank you for those moments of confirmation along the way. Though they make it much harder to be patient, I would never trade in the joy, peace, and complete feeling of being overwhelmed that comes through those moments. I will continue to wait Father.” Journal Entry ~ September 24, 2021

As soon as I finished writing those words, I tuned into the lyrics of the song by Michael Ketterer that was playing in the background.

If you say, “it’s wrong,” then I’ll say “no”.
If you say, “release,” I’m letting go.
If You’re in it with me, I’ll begin.
And when You say jump, I’m diving in.
If you say, “be still,” then I will wait.
If you say to trust, I will obey.
Teach me how to follow in your ways.
I’m done chasing feelings, Spirit lead me.

A thankfulness for the Holy Spirit washed over me. It was the Spirit that would lead me in what was next.

This morning, as I was sipping my hot coffee in the cool morning air, I played the lyrics of this song once again. My two weeks of plans have now come to an end. I am officially in the unknown. I do not know what is ahead for me today and am more than clueless as to what tomorrow will bring. In what could be such an uncomfortable space, I am trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit. I am exciting in the unknown; the continuation of this grand adventure with the Lord.  

I do not write my story to lead you to believe that it is easy to surrender to the guidance of the Spirit. Nor I do not write to tell you that I am doing it perfectly, because that is far from true. My own flesh wants to chase what I think is best for me. I want to pursue the things that I think will make for a grand adventure. I want to jump into those spaces where I have felt the Lord say, “you were created for this.” Friends, family, and strangers have all given me ‘the look’ when my answer to “what’s next” is a simple, “I don’t know yet.” The pressures of the world nudge me to have a plan of my own.  

I write my story to encourage you to be led by the Holy Spirit today. I write to tell you that it is okay to not know what lies ahead. I write to encourage you to surrender your plans and to stop chasing your feelings.

I can tell you that God has met the unknowns of my past with grand adventure. Adventure that has brought me far greater peace and joy than could ever come by way of the flesh or of the world. Adventure that grows me, stretches me, and shapes me for the things that lie ahead. Adventure that has strengthened my trust in being guided by the Spirit of the Lord. Adventure that has rooted my desire to be led by the Spirit and brings me excitement to do it again and again.

The Word of God says that His children are led by His Spirit. We are not to be led by our own desires, others wishes, or the nudges of the world. The One who sees the end from the beginning has given us His Spirit for guidance, among much else.

What a beautiful opportunity. Let us not quench the Spirit within us, but rise each morning to say, “Spirit lead me.” Join me in this today.