Length: 7 minutes

In our last part, we saw that God performs things through us and also desires them through us. Philippians 2 says that God works in us to will and to do. That is the true leading of the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 2:13 (NKJV) for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

And it’s not just Philippians saying this, but Psalms 37 seconds that, by saying that God puts His desires in our heart and also brings it to pass. 

Psalms 37:4-5 (NKJV) Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart [the will]. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass [the doing].

When Psalms 37 says that God will give you the desires of your heart, that doesn’t actually mean that He will give you what you want, but rather, He will put desires in your heart. And if the Spirit puts His desires in our heart, how do we know if our desires (or lack of them) are coming from the Holy Spirit or from us? Well, you may not know right now, but that verse also says that as we delight ourselves in the Lord, meditating on Him, that’s when He will give us the right desires. So, the best thing you can do, to get clear desires from the Lord, is to stay encouraged and delighted in Him!

As we renew our mind, we are still able to get a lot of desires that are not from the Lord, so I’m not asking you to follow after any desire you get. When people get worried, they might desire to take the first quick fix they can find. When people really want something, they tend to make rash decisions without preparation. There are lots of desires that may or may not be the Lord, but we are getting the clearest desires from the Lord when our mind is delighted in Him. This should just make sense because this is how we receive everything from the Lord — through the knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 1:3). And so, we also receive desires from the Lord as we are enjoying the knowledge of Him.

My advice would be, as you keep your mind on the Lord, and as you’re truly delighting yourself in Him, if a desire becomes more prevalent (as long as it is clearly within biblical morality), I would pay attention to that. And, as you spend time with the Lord, if the desire becomes less prevalent or goes away, I would also pay attention to that fact. 

God would never give you desires for things outside the parameters of godly morality, but aside from that, delight yourself in the Lord and see where your desires go. It doesn’t mean every desire you feel is the Lord, but the more you grow over time, the more what He wants, becomes what you want.

If there’s any doubt about a decision, (and sometimes, even if you feel sure) God has placed leaders within the church to consult their counsel. There are people that may know things that you don’t. Your decision may be more obviously right or wrong to someone with more experience in the knowledge of Jesus. Of course, you still have to weigh out their counsel, but you should take advantage of it.

The Performance

God will put desires in your heart, but of course, there is the correct timing and the correct way to go about it, which is why the Lord doesn’t just give you the desire for something. He is also able to give you the performance as well. That way, you’re not acting rashly on those desires, but He will be able to perform the thing, and very naturally, at the right time, in the right way. 

Psalms 37 says that He gives you the desires of your heart and He’s able to bring them to pass through you as well. Sometimes we only think of the Lord bringing things to pass as if that’s something that always happens outside of us. Like we’re just waiting around for it to come to pass. And while the Lord does certainly work through other people and situations, we need to understand that He’s living through your body! It’s coming from on the inside of you! So, your body will very likely be in motion when He’s bringing things to pass. When the Lord “brings it to pass,” it will very likely involve Him using your body to do things. But the important part is, if you delight in Him, it will be Him doing these things naturally through your body, and not your body itself. 

He can give you impulses and the natural inclination toward things, not to mention a natural aversion toward other things. Again, I will stress that not every impulse you get is from the Lord, but as you delight in Him, you can expect the Holy Spirit to literally perform tasks through your body more and more. 

Instruction Vs. Leading

It’s good to have instruction from the Lord so that we know what He wants to do through us. That way we are not taken off guard and we do not fight or oppose what He’s trying to do. We are God’s friends and He will certainly tell us things to come (John 15:15). But despite the instruction He gives us, instruction by itself is not the leading of the Holy Spirit. You can have people prophesy to you or God give you words in your heart, but the instruction alone is not the leading. Sometimes God does give you instruction ahead of time, but He needs to perform the desire, and the doing of the task itself. That whole package is the leading of the Holy Spirit. So even if you feel you have instruction from God on something, keep it in your heart, maybe even write it down, but without the desire and the natural performance through you, it’s not time yet. That is, as long as you’re delighting in Him.

Sometimes, you may even feel a desire for something, but it doesn’t feel like it’s a desire for now. You just can’t see it happening right now. That can certainly happen also. God can desire a lot of different things, in different ways through you, but regardless, if it’s the Lord doing it, the desire will be present. And not only a desire present, but the natural performance through you. 

I can’t tell you what it feels like to have the Lord desire something through you. I can’t tell you what it feels like for the Lord to do something through you. But I can tell you that it will feel natural, because the Bible says that when we receive these things from God, we are receiving from what is called the “divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). That means the things that are natural for our spirit, will come up into our flesh as well. And while I can’t describe to you exactly what the desire and performance of the Spirit will feel like, I don’t have to because I can tell you this, the more you delight yourself in the Lord, the more prevalent and clear His leading will become. The more you get to know Him, the less you’ll have to ask whether something is His leading or not. 

Because of these truths, this is why you only have one job, and that is to listen to His word and get your mind in tune with the wonderful things Jesus has done for you (Luke 10:39-42). The more your mind is seeing Jesus, the more His leading becomes clear (2 Corinthians 3:18). So, the best thing you can do for being led easily and naturally by the Holy Spirit is to get your mind fixed on Jesus. Do that, and the Lord will begin to work in you, both to desire and to perform the task itself. What a wonderfully restful life the Lord has given us.

If this blessed you, share this with someone else. More people need to understand this awesome truth.