By Gobel Brockman
"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God." - Romans 8:14
The call of the Christian life - the call to be a disciple of Jesus Christ - is sadly at times misrepresented in today's culture. Too often people are falsely led to believe that a commitment to Jesus Christ is intended to give us the joys of this life as well as the hope of an afterlife. The blessings of Christian living are indeed many, but we must understand the severity of the call to follow Jesus. Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated it well: "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." We are indeed called to take up our cross and follow Jesus. We are also called to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As our Scripture states, it is those who are led by the Spirit of God who are truly the sons and daughters of God.
To take that thought a step further, I will ask you to consider this: in one of the most famous passages of Scripture in the Bible, the psalmist said this: "He leadeth me beside still waters." (Psalms 23:2) The picture here is that God will lead His children beside still waters. That is a peaceful, pleasant thought indeed. But there is something very interesting to me found in the fourth chapter of Luke. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. What happened immediately after that? The Bible says that "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil." (V. 1-2)
What do we see here? Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit AWAY from the water where He had just experienced a powerful manifestation of His Father's love. Not only that, but the Holy Spirit led Him INTO the wilderness for a period of fasting and facing the enemy's temptations. To our natural minds, that might not make sense. Why would the Holy Spirit lead Him into such a challenging time? I'm sure that as Jesus faced the devil and his assault, "still waters" was probably the last way He would describe the experience. However, a wonderful thing happened at the end of those forty days. Once Jesus faced down the enemy, Luke continues with this: "Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about Him went out through all the surrounding country." (V. 14)
Do we understand what happened there? Jesus left the waters of the Jordan, where He received confirmation of His Father's approval, and immediately was led into the wilderness. But because Jesus was willing to be led by the Holy Spirit into that difficult period, He was able to come back "in the power of the Holy Spirit." I hope we can learn a powerful lesson from that. Yes, the Holy Spirit will definitely lead us beside still waters, but He will also lead us into difficult times to test us and to allow us to be challenged so that we might grow in our faith and our Christian commitment. The important thing for us to remember is that God knows where He's leading us - even when we don't understand it ourselves. I will tell you that if you are living for Christ, there will be many, many times when you won't understand why you're facing the challenges you're facing. Being a Christian is not for the faint of heart. But if we are truly being led by the Holy Spirit in our lives, I can assure you that the blessings for following His leading will far outweigh the trials we may face in the process. As I look back at my own experience, I can tell you that the most difficult times in my life have been followed by some of the most exciting and fulfilling ministry opportunities I could ever hope to experience. They made the difficult times well worth going through.
What I'm trying to say this week is that if you are committed to following Jesus Christ, forget about an easy life. There are going to be challenges that will test you sometimes beyond what you think you're capable of handling. But please trust me - if you're truly being led by the Holy Spirit, then you're truly a son or daughter of God, and God takes care of His children.
Just remember that sometimes getting to the still waters may require a trip through the wilderness.
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