Looking For Directions

Imagine that you are on a trip but find that you are now lost and need directions. The first person you ask says that they know how to get to where you need to go. But as they start to give you directions, it becomes clear to you that they are confused about how to direct you to your destination.

The second person says that he knows where you want to go and would willingly drive ahead of you. If you follow him closely, you will safely arrive at your destination. Which person would you choose as your guide? I would hazard a guess that most of us would rather follow someone who knew where he was going, rather than to take directions from someone who appears rather confused.

Which Spirit Leads Us?

As we go through life, there are many times when we have to make choices. Should I go here or there? Should I buy this or that? Should I join this group or another? Should I marry this person? Should I wait longer before changing jobs? It seems that we never finish with making decisions. And when we think about it for a moment, we soon come to realize that our decisions are the backbone of our lives. To become aware of how we are led into those decisions is of the utmost importance. Are we led by the spirit of the world, or by the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit?

The Spirit of the World

At times it's rather easy to see that many of our decisions are prompted by the spirit of the world. When we buy things we don't really need; when we enter into relationships only because we want to get something out of them for ourselves; when we make decisions that we know will have a harmful effect on others—when we do these and so many other similar kinds of things, we know we are being led by the spirit of the world.

So very many organizations and institutions make all of their decisions under the prompting of the world's spirit. Self-protection and profit become the main motives for decisions. The weak and the inefficient are soon thrown out on the streets to fend for themselves. What's not good for business soon gets heaped on the trash pile.

The Holy Spirit

As Christians, our goal is to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us through our lives in every decision we have to make, no matter how small or big. Jesus tells us that "...the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you" (Jn.14:25).This is why it's so important for us to remain open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit teaches us what we need to know, when we need to know it. We are reminded by the Holy Spirit of the particular truths we need to remember when we are involved in an important moment in our lives.

If this is so, then why is it that so often we make the wrong decisions? What prevents us from being led by the Holy Spirit? What is the biggest obstacle we place in the way of the Spirit working in our lives? The answer might be obvious but I think it's still the right one: a closed mind and a closed heart are the biggest obstacles to our being led by the Spirit.

Unable to Hear

If we are not open to the new and unexpected in our lives then we will not be able to hear the Holy Spirit when we need to hear the Spirit. New possibilities will not be able to make their way into our minds and hearts. So many times we miss the prompting of the Holy Spirit because we push aside new thoughts and feelings as strange or out of hand.

St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans proclaims: "You did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear." When we are afraid to move forward with our lives, we often find ourselves the slave to fear. It's a terrible place to be in because it makes life such a terrible burden. Fear keeps us in prison. But when we make the choice to allow the Spirit to speak deeply to our hearts, we then have the freedom to make new and life-giving decisions and to go where we have not gone before.

Breaking Out

Sometimes we get stuck in life. We seem to neither move forward nor backward. Nothing new seems to ever happen. And then we decide to really listen to God speaking in our lives. When that happens, we can see things and people in a new way. New possibilities open up in our lives. A breath of fresh air finally blows through our stale daily routines. If we remain open to the Holy Spirit, we will hear the promise made in today's psalm: When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.