by Rev. Robert John Cericola, Carroll, OH - EUA
Day 56
Led by Peace
Colossians 3:15 (AMP)
And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire
continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions
that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of
Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful
(appreciative), [giving praise to God always].
In our world, the
cares of life are strong distractions that make it difficult to discern the
voice of the Lord or His will when we are trying to make a decision. Of course,
if the decision is a choice between obeying or breaking the commandment to love
we already know His will and hopefully choose to obey the commandment. But,
what about decisions that do not involve braking of keeping the covenant of
just being led by Holy Spirit in our daily activities?
Here are the
principle ways the Holy Spirit leads; through the Bible, with impressions,
prophetic words, an audible voice, or with peace. Over the years, He has used
all of these methods to lead me, but the majority of the time He has used
impressions and peace.
For example, early in
my walk with the Lord I decided to rent an apartment closer to the university I
was attending. When moving day arrived I loaded my belongings, which included a
round table top, into the bed of a pickup truck and drove toward my new
apartment. Two miles from my new apartment I stopped for a red traffic
light. While I sat waiting for the
traffic light to turn green, I had an impression that the round table top was
going to roll out of the truck bed. Not knowing the Holy Spirit was trying to
lead me, I brushed off the impression and when the light turned green I started
through the intersection. Half way through the intersection the table top
rolled off the truck and landed in the middle of the street. I pulled the truck
through the intersection, stopped at the curb, and to the sound of honking
horns and angry motorists, I retrieved the table top, that by then had been run
over by several cars.
Although Holy Spirit
can and will lead you with impressions ninety percent of the time He leads with
peace. The Amplified bible tells us to, “let the peace of Christ act as an
umpire in our hearts to settle all the questions that arise in our minds.” Let’s use the traffic light to illustrate how
you can be led by Christ’s peace.
A traffic light has a
red light which requires us to stop, a yellow light tells us to use caution,
and a green light signals us to drive on. When you want God’s will in making a
decision, present the situation to the Lord, and ask Holy Spirit to guide you
with His peace. Confusion in your spirit
is your signal to stop, do not go forward with the opportunity or plan. Peace
in your soul is the green light to proceed with the opportunity or plan. The
absence of confusion or peace is the yellow light of caution which means
continue in prayer until you have peace or confusion in your soul.
As we grow in
relationship to Father and Jesus, it becomes easier for us to discern the
leading of the Holy Spirit. However, when someone ignores His leadings time
after time, He stops trying to lead. If this is your
case, repent and ask God to forgive you for ignoring Him and He will start
leading again.
Ending thoughts
Use this simple
example of a traffic light and prayer to discern Holy Spirit’s leading on the
plans you make and the decisions you face.
