How Do We Know If We Are Hearing and Doing God's Will?
Adapted from The Everyday Life BIble by Joyce Meyer

Bold As A Lion (Joyce Meyer’s The Everyday’s Life Bible, p. 1007)

If we intend to succeed at being ourselves and truly enjoy our everyday lives, we must reach a point where we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. Only God, through His Spirit, can lead us to succeed and be all we can be. Other people usually will not, the devil certainly will not, and we are not able to do it ourselves without God.

Being led by the Spirit does not mean we never make mistakes. The Holy Spirit does not make mistakes, but we do. Following the Spirit’s leading is a process that can be learned only by doing. We start by stepping out into things we believe God is putting on our hearts; and we learn by wisdom and experience how to hear more clearly and definitely. I always say, “Step out and find out.” That is one way to discover if what is in your heart is from God. If it works it is God, and if it doesn’t work it is not God, and there is no shame in stepping out to find out. Take little “baby steps” and see if the first one produces good fruit; if it does then take another step. If it does not, then back off and pray some more.

I say that boldness is required to be led by the Spirit because only boldness steps out and only boldness can survive making mistakes. We must remember that the “righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1). When insecure people make mistakes, often they will not try again. Bold people make many mistakes, but their attitude is, “I am going to keep trying until I learn to do this right.”

Those who suffer from condemnation usually do not believe they can hear from God. Even if they think they may have heard from God and do step out, a minor failure is a major setback to them. Each time they make mistake, they come under a new load of guilt and condemnation. They end up spending all their time in the cycle. They make a mistake, feel condemned, make another mistake, feel condemned, and on and on. Finally they become frozen with fear and never fulfill their destinies.

I encourage you to step out in faith and be all that God has called you to be. If you do step out and two weeks later discover that you made a mistake, are you going to be bold enough to pray, wise enough to learn from your mistakes and determined enough to go on? Or are you going to feel condemned and go back to wasting your life? There is no point in learning to be led by the Holy Spirit if you do not understand that you will make some mistakes while on the journey.

Be as bold as a lion in your faith. Do not hide behind fears, insecurities, and mistakes any longer. If you have already made major blunders in your life and have been living under condemnation because of them, this is the time to forgive yourself and press on!

You can be all God planned for you, in Christ. Do not be half of it or three-quarters of it, but be all that God designed you to be. Do all He wants you to do, and have all He wants you to have. You will not enjoy God’s fullness without His boldness. Remember, condemnation destroys boldness, so do not stay under condemnation.

Proverbs 28:1 says that the wicked flee when no one is even pursuing them. The wicked are running all the time. They run from everything. But the uncompromisingly righteous are as bold as a lion. And whether you feel it or not, you are righteous!

Indeed through this journey of transformations, I felt like God has brought me out of “Egypt” to the “promised land”. On my journey to the “promised land”, He has brought me through the dessert and wilderness so that He can equip and prepare me to take over and conquer the “promised land” (my vision). Even on my journey to conquer the “promised land”, these promises spoke into my heart from the book of Deuteronomy.

Deut 7:9
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands.

(Deut 4:29-31)
When you are in distress and … in later days you return to the Lord your God and obey Him; If from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon or forget you.

Finally (Deut 31:6)
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them [all your problems you face on the journey to the “promised land” or back to the path of righteousness], for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.

My Easter Testimony

Ever since I took the step of faith to be baptized on the 4/4/1999, my lives started to turn around as the Lord led me patiently to take me back to the path of righteousness. My study life in secondary years was very messed up because of unwise decisions and I struggled a lot in my studies in those years. The struggle in my studies was felt even as I stepped into Pre-U studies and into university. Fears of failure gripped me when I first failed subjects in the first year of my university studies. After that, the fear clung unto me each time when tests or examination come. But through the years, God has given me the strength to face all these failures in positive ways, the strength to persevere and to work harder, the peace and confidence to do my best in each assessment and to put my trust and faith in Him for the results. Amazingly God has led me through each stage of my studies till where I am now. Without Him I really can’t imagine where I would be now.

In addition to the struggles in my studies, I also faced relationship problems among my friends, due to my characters and behaviors. I was struck with various problems like depression, anxiety, fears of various things, low self-esteem and intimidation due to loss of friends and loneliness. However, the Lord was faithful and caring that He taught me and build up my character patiently each day. Even through these days of reconstructions, God has also deposited His Words and promises into my heart that have planted me onto the firm Rock that can not be shaken. Through these transformations, God has added and enlarged my territory and friendships each day that I could be who I am now.

Indeed these have been a long journey, but HE was there with me, beside me, faithfully guiding me through each “wilderness” and “thorns” of life, bringing me back to HIS PATH of righteousness, building and shaping me up to be the man He wants me to be.

Among the few promises that kept me strong through these journey are found in Psalm 23 and Proverbs 3:
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want; He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters; He restores my soul; He guides me in the path of righteousness; even though I walk through the valley of shadows of death; I will fear no evil; for You are with me and Your staff comforts me; surely goodness and love will follow me; all the days of my life I will dwell in the house of the Lord; Forever.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Now that He has freed me, I can smile at the world with His great joy!

PTL Hallelujah!