THE SPIRIT COMPELS

Mark 1:12-13  12 The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, 13 where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.

The wilderness in our lives can be a number of things, including a time of discomfort, a time of pain, a time uncertainty, a time of brokenness, or even a time of ‘new’. It can also be a time to grow in our faith. In any case, God will have our backs, just as the angels had Jesus’ back. 

The most difficult part is knowing if in fact it is the Spirt of God calling us out into the wilderness. Sometimes in our busy world, it’s hard to hear God and what He might be saying to us. And if we do hear, are we certain that it is indeed God or our thoughts?

It’s our heads that get us in trouble.

It’s our heads/thoughts that represent our panic, our prejudices, our past experiences, and our pride and we need to be sure that it is not these four Ps’ among a hundred other things, that we mistake for the Spirit compelling us.

How can we learn to distinguish between the P’s in our minds and the Holy Spirit?

1– Seek God first in everything

2– Read the word of God

3– Pray without ceasing

Doing these will helps us:

• Recognize God’s voice

• Drown out the 4 P’s in our head

• Correct our thinking

• Heal our past

We can’t have Christ centred lives that introduce the gospel to others, unless we have direction from the Holy Spirit.

We can’t discern when the Holy Spirit is directing, unless we can recognize His prompting.

We won’t recognize Him, unless we spend time listening.

We won’t listen for an answer unless we have prayed.

We can’t pray unless we know what to pray for.

We can’t be specific in our prayers, unless we know God’s heart in the matter.

We can’t know God’s heart, unless we spend time getting to know Him by reading your bible.

Therefore:

1 – Read 

2 – Pray

3 – Listen

4 – Act

IN THIS ORDER seems logical to me!

Bless you.