A Timely Topic: We are committed to listening to the Holy Spirit
Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash
The story I'm going to reference first is John 8. It's the story of when Jesus was in the temple and the Pharisees came to him with the lady who had committed adultery. They asked Jesus a question, which was a tough question to answer, and Jesus is left wondering, "Which way do I go?" And the scriptures tell us that Jesus bent over, waited, and then He drew in the sand.
I think it was interesting Jesus didn't know the answer and He waited for the Holy Spirit to speak instead of just giving scripture or trying to convince them, "Well, what if you do this?"
So, my thought on this is: Listening to the Holy Spirit means we ask a question and then we wait. We hold back on the first thing that comes to our minds. Then we ask, "Holy Spirit, what are you saying here? What do you want to do here?"
Philosopher and writer Dallas Willard uses the word 'pause,' which means it's that holy waiting. It's letting the Holy Spirit fill the gap. I think one of the skills that I'm practicing and I would recommend is this 'pause,' this waiting. Let's ask the question and wait and let the Holy Spirit guide your answer.
We live in a world where we're quick to action, quick to speak, and there are a lot of words. Then we say afterward, "Holy Spirit, what do you want me to do?" In the meantime, we've already responded, or we've already tried to do a bunch of things.
We don't know how long Jesus drew in the sand with His finger. It could have been a few seconds, or maybe it was up to five or 10 minutes.
What we do know is that when the Holy Spirit spoke to Him, He raised up and He gave them an answer that completely left them stunned, "Well, where do we go with this?"
"Let He who has no sin throw the first stone." And they all left. Now, that was a Holy Spirit-inspired answer, but how did Jesus get there? He got there by waiting for the answer. I think that is a discipline. That is a challenge to all of us because we live in a world where everything has to be quick. We're given a problem and we have to find the solution quickly. Speaking for myself, a lot of times that solution is based on my own experiences and what I've done in the past.
I think the invitation here is, can we wait? So we say, "Holy Spirit, what do you want me to do here?" Can we wait in time? Part of that, I think, is (if you want to put it real bluntly) to put your tongue between your teeth and bite hard on it. Keep quiet and let God speak. Then, when He speaks, it is the perfect answer. The challenge is, how long is that wait? Is it a few minutes or is it a few hours? Or maybe it might be a day or a week before the Holy Spirit says, "Do this," and then we do it.
So, for me, the theme that I'm saying in terms of listening to the Holy Spirit is, "Can we hold and wait for the Holy Spirit to speak?" It's listening, but it's listening with that pause of letting Him fill the space, rather than using our own words to fill the space.
Going back to the story. It teaches us that if Jesus knew the answer immediately because He was God, He would've given it to them. He wasn't, He was human and He was God. So, He bent down and He waited. So, I can do that.
If it means bending down and drawing in the sand, then that's something that I can do as well. I can draw, lean down and take a pen and doodle on a piece of paper and wait and wait. That's human. That's very human. He's so God that He knew all the answers right away. However, this shows He didn't, He was very, very human and He just waited for the Holy Spirit to speak to Him. I think it's a skill and the discipline that I'm trying to learn more in my life and apply it, and hopefully, it can be useful to somebody else as well.
About the author: Greg Walton is a longtime fieldworker who serves in Guatemala with his wife, Helaine, and their three children. They joined All Nations Kansas City in 2000 and has seen the Holy Spirit move as he has chosen to align with Him.
Get Connected & Let’s Grow Together!
We invite you! Here are some amazing resources you may find interesting including:
Our Founder, Floyd McClung, has 18 books and audio/video teachings that will be an encouragement to you as you press in to all Jesus has for you in your journey! Connect HERE to our founders area to be equipped!
Lessons from the Least, the Last, and the Lost, All Nations Weekly Devotion by Blake Staton, M.Div.
All Nations Pocket Guide to Church Planting by Dr. Pam Arlund (in many languages)
All Nations Storytelling Resource
Mission’s Edge, a monthly roundtable learning opportunities with ministry and missions leaders! Sign-up for any of these today and participate! Let’s grow together!
To participate or learn about our monthly global prayer for the neglected people around the world, sign-up HERE to receive a monthly video prayer invite. We meet on the last Thursday of each month at 8 am CST (US). We encourage everyone to join in as we pray that Jesus will be worshiped by all peoples of the earth — the least, the last, and the lost!
