Learn to Recognise His Leading

“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”

Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV)

One of the questions I am asked most often is this: how do I know when God is leading me?

It is a good question and it deserves a careful answer, because a lot of harm has been done by confident people who were sure God was leading them somewhere He was not.

Paul writes, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.”

The contrast Paul draws is deliberate and instructive. Both drunkenness and Spirit-filling involve being under an influence. But one dulls judgement, loosens restraint and leaves damage behind; the other clarifies, produces self-control, and leaves fruit. And note the grammar: the verb is continuous, “be being filled,” and it is in the imperative. This is a command, not an option, and it is ongoing rather than once for all.

Look at what Paul says filling produces in the verses that follow: speaking to one another in psalms and hymns, singing in the heart, “giving thanks always for all things,” and submitting to one another in the fear of God (Ephesians 5:19-21). That is the evidence he offers. Not primarily unusual experience. Worship, gratitude and humility in relationships.

Now, to the question of leading. Let me give you four things to hold together.

First, and above everything else: Scripture. God will not guide you in a direction that contradicts what He has already revealed in His Word. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and He inspired the Bible. He does not now lead people around it. This single principle would prevent most of the disasters I have watched unfold. If a leading requires you to break a vow, deceive someone, abandon a responsibility, or step outside clear biblical obedience, it is not from God, whatever it felt like.

And the Spirit leads towards Christlikeness. Holiness, love, obedience. If the direction you are being pulled produces pride, division or recklessness, that is diagnostic.

Second, discernment grows through practice. Hebrews 5:14 speaks of those who “by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” By reason of use. This is a trained faculty, not a gift you either have or do not. As you know Scripture better, pray consistently, and remain accountable to mature believers, you become better at distinguishing what is from God and what is simply emotion, pressure, fear, appetite or your own strong preference.

Third, do not be ashamed of still learning. Samuel heard God audibly and assumed it was Eli, three times. A prophet had to teach him what he was hearing. If Samuel needed help learning to recognise God’s voice, you are in respectable company. Discernment matures; it does not arrive complete.

Fourth, stay humble enough to test what you sense. Three questions serve well. Does this agree with Scripture? Does this honour Jesus? What fruit is this likely to produce? Add a fourth for serious decisions: what do mature believers who know me well think? Proverbs 11:14 is not optional reading for the spiritual.

Now let me guard something on the other side, because caution has its own failure mode.

God is not asking you to become mystical, chasing impressions, looking for signs in number plates, paralysed until you receive certainty. He is calling you to become attentive and obedient. Much of God’s will is not hidden at all; it is written down plainly and we simply have not done it. Before agonising over the will of God for next year, it is worth asking whether you are obeying the will of God for today, which Scripture has already made unmistakable.

And frankly, a great deal of guidance comes through sanctified common sense, wise counsel, open and closed doors, and the desires God Himself has shaped in a surrendered heart. That is not less spiritual than a dramatic impression. Often it is more reliable.

So how do you get filled? Paul’s command implies availability rather than technique. Ask. Yield. Confess what you know is in the way. Get into the Word, because the parallel passage in Colossians 3:16 says “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” and then lists almost the same results. Word-filled and Spirit-filled are not competitors.

Let me add one guard that saves a great deal of trouble.

Be careful about how you speak of what you sense. There is a considerable difference between “I believe God may be leading me towards this” and “God told me to do this.” The first invites testing; the second shuts down every conversation and makes disagreement feel like rebellion.

Humility in the language protects everyone, including you. If you are wrong, you can adjust without having attached God’s name to your mistake.

And if someone approaches you claiming absolute divine authority for a direction in your life, you are entirely within your rights, and following Scripture, to weigh it carefully. Even Paul commended the Bereans for checking him.

Stay close to the Word, stay filled with the Spirit, and let discernment grow through humble, consistent obedience.

Prayer

Father, fill me with Your Spirit today, and keep filling me. Thank You that You do not lead me around Your Word but through it. Make me attentive without becoming gullible, and careful without becoming deaf. Where I have called my own preference Your leading, correct me. Where I have delayed obeying something You have already made plain, forgive me and give me courage. Grow my discernment through use, through Scripture, and through the counsel of people who love me enough to be honest. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Declaration

The Spirit never leads me against the Word. I will test what I sense, obey what is already plain, and grow in discernment as I go.

Pastor Ras

All Nations Community Church

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