Paul says: "We walk by faith, not by sight," and, "The just shall
live by faith," so we may conclude:--
(a) That the guidance of the Holy Spirit is such as still to
demand the exercise of faith. God never leads us in such a way as
to do away with the necessity of faith. When God warned Noah, we
read that it was by faith that Noah was led to build the ark.
When God told Abraham to go to a land which He would show him, it
was by faith that Abraham went (Hebrews xi. 7, 8). If we believe,
we shall surely be guided; but if we do not believe, we shall be
left to ourselves. Without faith it is impossible to please God,
or to follow where He leads. Again, the Psalmist says, "The meek
will He guide in judgment," from which we gather:--
(b) That the Spirit guides us in such manner as to demand the
exercise of our best judgment. He enlightens our understanding
and directs our judgment by sound reason and sense.
I knew a man who was eager to obey God, and to be led by the
Spirit, but who had the mistaken idea that the Holy Spirit sets
aside human judgment and common sense, and speaks directly upon
the most minute and commonplace matters. He wanted the Holy
Spirit to direct him just how much to eat at each meal, and he
has been known to take food out of his mouth at what he supposed
to be the Holy Spirit's notification that he had eaten enough,
and that if he swallowed that mouthful, it would be in violation
of the leadings of the Spirit.
No doubt, the Spirit will help an honest man to arrive at a safe
judgment even in matters of this kind, but it will doubtless be
through the use of his sanctified common sense. Otherwise, he is
reduced to a state of mental infancy, and kept in intellectual
swaddling clothes. He will guide us in judgment; but it is only
as we resolutely, and in the best light we have, exercise
judgment.
John Wesley said that God usually guided him by presenting
reasons to his mind for any given course of action.
(c) The Psalmist says, "Thou shalt guide me with Thy
counsel," and "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way
that thou shalt go." Now, counsel, instruction, and teaching not
only imply effort upon the part of the teacher, but also study
and close attention on the part of the one being taught. So this
guidance of the Holy Spirit is such as will require us to
attentively listen, diligently study, and patiently learn the
lessons He would teach us. And so we see that the Holy Spirit
does not set aside our powers and faculties, but seeks to awaken
and stir them into full activity, and develop them into well-rounded
perfection, and thus make them channels through which He
can intelligently influence and direct us.
What He seeks to do is to illuminate our whole spiritual being,
as the sun illuminates our physical being, and bring us into such
union and sympathy, such oneness of thought, desire, affection,
and purpose with God, that we shall, by a kind of spiritual
instinct, know at all times the mind of God concerning us, and
never be in doubt about His will.