Jesus Was Spirit Filled and Led

Key Verse to Read and Treasure

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.—Luke 4:1,2 (NIV)

For Insight

Imagine being so full of and aware of the Holy Spirit all he needs to do is whisper or stir and tell you what to do or which way to go and you recognize his voice and obey what he says. Imagine how everything in your life would be perfectly timed and perfectly executed that you would never miss anything God had prepared for you. Being that in-tune and connected you would make that call the day you’re supposed to, take that next step, bring an end to something, order that item on the exact day, go here, do that…And because of your obedience everything comes out perfectly as God intended and arranged. That’s the kind of relationship Jesus had with him.

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If we want to be (more) like Jesus, then being in perfect unity with the Spirit is imperative. The Spirit of God has come to be our Counselor, our Strength, our wisdom, our leader into all truth. He is come to be our perfect spiritual GPS in this life. He comes not only to live among us but to live within and through us. But what good is there to having the Spirit indwell us if we continually squelch or override him and push him aside as we execute our own plans?

To be like Jesus we must also be in perfect unity with the Spirit. Not just for the big occasions, but in daily life. The Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness following Jesus’ baptism but this was not out of the ordinary. Daily the Spirit led and showed Jesus what to do, gave him strength to do what was needed. The Spirit was Jesus’ courage and encouragement. The relationship between the Holy Spirit and Jesus has existed forever. Since the Holy Trinity are not created beings but eternal, he is not only related to Jesus Christ in his deity, but he is related to him in his humanity and under his inspiration all things were done and accomplished.

For us today, when the Holy Spirit speaks or directs, we should be ready to respond without hesitation, knowing he would never lead us in the wrong direction or into any harmful situation. Our carnality questions why the Spirit would lead Jesus into the wilderness to go hungry, be physically weak and be tempted by the devil, but the Spirit knew it was a necessary suffering so Jesus could prepare for his earthly ministry and begin his journey to the Cross of Calvary under the Spirit’s power.   

As a child Jesus was surrounded with those who were Spirit filled and led: His own mother Mary, his earthly father Joseph, aunt Elizabeth and uncle Zechariah, grandmother Anna, Cousin John. All those who did not make a move or hold to their own plans but when the Spirit spoke, they followed and obeyed. All these exampled what the Spirit-filled life looked like. It is the life we are to have today. The life we can have today. The life that will be blessed today.  

Holy Spirit, I long to be Spirit-filled and led. I desire to become perfectly obedient to your guidance. Amen    

For Application

On a Scale of 1-10 how good are you at being obedient to the Holy Spirit? What do you need to do to improve in this area?