Mensa Otabil - The Leading of the Spirit (10/04/2025)
Welcome to a brand new week and to the third day of our 40 Days of Power. Throughout these 40 days, we’re trusting God to lead us and to guide us. This week, we will focus on God’s leading because as we wait on the Lord and seek His face, it’s important that we find God’s purposes and God’s plans for our lives. John 16:13 states, «However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you things to come.»
Our Lord Jesus Christ promised that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will lead us into all truth. He also said that the Holy Spirit would tell us things to come, and that is a privilege afforded to every child of God-the Holy Spirit living within us, to guide us and reveal truths to us. Thus, having the Holy Spirit living in us is crucial. Some people reduce it to merely speaking in tongues, but the Holy Spirit does far more than that. The Holy Spirit is our guide, our leader, and the one who brings us into all truth. Therefore, if He is the one leading us, we must submit to Him.
You cannot resist the Holy Spirit and still expect His leading. You cannot be walking in sin and living wrongly before the Lord and still trust the Holy Spirit to lead you. For us to be led by the Holy Spirit, He must guide us. Most of us are familiar with aircraft and how they fly. When an aircraft is in the air, it is a marvel that this huge metal structure can move from one place to another, led by a pilot. The pilot sits in the cockpit and navigates the path of the plane, moving everyone and the entire aircraft along.
How is the pilot able to do that? Is it because they are strong, muscular, and large? No, it’s because they learn to depend on the instruments in front of them. These instruments tell them where they are going-whether east, west, or south-and how long they will travel, guiding them to stay on the right path. Every pilot, no matter how experienced, understands that for effective flying, they must keep their eyes on the navigation instruments in front of them.
For us Christians, as we fly through life, God has also given us a navigation instrument: the Holy Spirit. Just as the pilot relies on navigation instruments to move through the air, we depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us. He tells us whether we are in fellowship with God or out of fellowship, whether something we are doing is right or wrong. As we obey Him, He guides us, leads us, and propels us into the place God has for us. As Christians, we cannot live our lives without the Holy Spirit. He is our guide, our leader, and our teacher. During this period, as we wait on the Lord and seek Him, if you want God’s guidance, it will come through the Holy Spirit. It won’t come just because you’ve been a Christian for a long time, or because you know how to pray well, or because you’ve memorized many scriptures. While all these things are good, our true navigation instrument is the Holy Spirit. Learn to depend on Him, draw close to Him, trust Him, and He will carry you on your journey to its end.
The Holy Spirit does not provide a full picture of everything ahead; He leads us one step at a time, one day at a time, so we depend on Him daily. You cannot just spend one moment learning about navigation and then forget the Holy Spirit until next year. We need to rely on Him every step of the way, and He will guide you and make the way clear for you.
Let’s pray: Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I surrender to Your leading. Let Your Holy Spirit reveal Your will to me and show me the way. In Jesus' name, Amen.» Friend, we have a guide who is always with us. He never leaves us, and we can trust Him. He is called the Holy Spirit. I will catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom-peace and life to you.