Hearing His Voice #241

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.

Acts 15:28

“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit.” On one hand, that doesn’t seem very definitive. The council in Jerusalem had listened to the various opinions about Gentiles coming to Christ and had prayed about what to require of them. Clearly, the Holy Spirit had not sorted it out for them with an audible voice. All the church leadership could say was, “It seemed good.” On the other hand, the Holy Spirit was clearly involved. Most of us would say after a long discussion about various options, “It seems good to us.” We wouldn’t want to pin our own thought processes on the Holy Spirit or speak presumptuously about His will. Yet, without hearing a clear, audible voice, James is able to say that this decision seemed good to the Spirit. The Spirit had not given any of these participants an unsettled feeling or a clear objection about the outcome. They were convinced that He had led them.

That’s how most of our Spirit-led decisions will come to us—somewhere between a clear, audible voice and our own independent thought processes. We ask for the Spirit’s leading, pray for Him to fill our hearts and minds with His will, hear all sides of the issue, discuss the options, and then trust the wisdom He gives us. That may not involve an audible voice from God, but it’s still a voice. He is involved in the inner workings of our decisions when we invite Him to lead and seek His agenda alone.

Somehow, the participants in this discussion in Jerusalem made a radical transition. The meeting began out of a heated argument between factions and ended with a unified policy that affected the entire future of the church. Certainly there were dissidents thereafter, but the key leaders of the church were generally united in their mission. The Spirit speaks powerfully even when He speaks quietly.

Holy Spirit, please influence my thoughts, my discussions, and my decision making. I choose to trust Your leadership even when it only seems that I’ve heard You. You are my all-sufficient, always-present Guide.