Day 20: The Holy Spirit Governs Me

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14 NKJV

“The Holy Spirit was never meant to be a visitor in your life. He was sent to govern every part of you, including the thoughts and pictures you allow to live within you.” — Dr. Daniel LeBlanc

The Holy Spirit Governs Me

There is a big difference between having the Holy Spirit living within you and allowing the Holy Spirit to lead you. Every believer can enjoy His presence, but God wants us to go beyond simply knowing He is there. He wants us to learn how to follow Him.

Paul said, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans 8:14 NKJV. The Christian life was never meant to be lived by our feelings, our impulses, our circumstances, or whatever thought happens to be the loudest at the moment. We were created to live under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

But we need to understand something very important about the government of the Holy Spirit. He does not govern us through fear, intimidation, or control. Everything He does flows from the heart of God, and God is love. His correction is loving, His warnings are loving, His direction is loving, and even when He tells us no, His no is coming from love.

A good father does not warn his child about danger because he wants to take something away from him. He warns him because he can see something the child may not see. In the same way, when the Holy Spirit interrupts us, corrects us, or warns us, He is not trying to keep something good from us. He is lovingly protecting us from something that can hurt us and leading us toward the life God has for us.

I think sometimes we want the Holy Spirit to govern the big things while we continue governing the little things. We want Him involved in our calling, our ministry, our family, our health, and our future, but we forget that He also wants to govern our thoughts, attitudes, reactions, conversations, and imaginations.

That is where much of the real battle takes place. Before something becomes an action, it has usually been entertained as a thought. Before bitterness comes out of our mouth, we have often had a conversation about the offense many times within ourselves.

Before fear begins controlling our decisions, we have usually allowed it to paint pictures of what might happen. Before temptation becomes an action, we may have already given it room to live within our imagination.

This is why the Holy Spirit wants access to our inner world. He does not only want to change what we do. He loves us too much to leave untouched the thoughts, pictures, and desires that can eventually lead us into bondage.

Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Notice that Paul does not say our first assignment is to spend our lives fighting the flesh. He tells us to walk in the Spirit.

The closer we walk with the Holy Spirit, the quicker we begin recognizing thoughts that do not belong. Something may rise within us and immediately we sense, “That is not the direction the Holy Spirit is leading me.” We may not always hear an audible voice, but His Word and His presence within us begin correcting our direction.

I have learned that the Holy Spirit will interrupt or even warn me if I am willing to listen. I can be thinking about something someone did to me, building my case and proving in my own mind why I am right, when suddenly the Holy Spirit begins dealing with my heart. He may remind me of a Scripture, bring conviction about my attitude, or simply make me aware that I am allowing the wrong picture to grow.

When He does that, He is not condemning me. He is loving me enough to keep me from allowing something destructive to take root in my heart. His conviction is not rejection. It is the loving voice of God calling me back toward truth and freedom.

At that moment I have a choice, and love does not remove that choice from me. I can keep rehearsing what I want to think, or I can trust the Holy Spirit enough to surrender that thought and allow Him to govern me.

This is where surrender becomes very practical. Surrender is not only what happens at an altar while music is playing and tears are flowing. Sometimes surrender happens on Tuesday morning when the Holy Spirit says, “Stop thinking about that. Let it go.”

Sometimes surrender means refusing to continue an imaginary argument in your mind. Other times it means turning away from a tempting picture, rejecting a fearful thought, forgiving someone again, or refusing to let anger determine what comes out of your mouth.

That is what it means for the Holy Spirit to govern our inner world. We are saying, “Holy Spirit, I trust Your love enough to receive Your correction and direction. Show me when something within me is moving in the wrong direction, and lead me back into truth.”

This does not mean we become passive people who are afraid to think for ourselves. The Holy Spirit does not destroy our will or force us into obedience. He lovingly teaches us how to bring our will into agreement with God.

Second Corinthians 3:17 says, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” The government of the Holy Spirit does not produce bondage. It produces freedom because He loves us too much to leave us enslaved to the very things Jesus died to set us free from.

The flesh says, “Do what you feel.” Fear says, “Protect yourself.” Offense says, “Hold on to what they did.” Temptation says, “Give yourself what you want.” The Holy Spirit lovingly keeps leading us back to Jesus, back to truth, and back to freedom.

The more we respond to Him, the more sensitive we become to His leadership. Spiritual maturity is not reaching a place where wrong thoughts never appear. It is learning to recognize them sooner and trusting the love of the Holy Spirit enough to surrender them more quickly.

There is a throne in your heart, and something will influence what happens there. Fear wants to govern, the flesh wants to govern, the opinions of people want to govern, and the enemy certainly wants to influence what you believe. But none of them love you like God loves you, and none of them belong on the throne of a life surrendered to Jesus.

Today, make a fresh decision about who governs your inner world. Tell the Holy Spirit that your thoughts, emotions, desires, memories, reactions, and imagination are open to His loving correction and direction.

You do not have to be ruled by every thought that enters your mind or every emotion that rises within you. You belong to Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives within you, and His leadership is always flowing from love. You can trust Him enough to follow His leadership one thought and one decision at a time.

Prayer

Father, thank You for giving me Your Holy Spirit. Thank You that His correction, direction, and warnings flow from Your perfect love for me. I do not want Him to merely live within me while I continue allowing my flesh, feelings, fear, or wrong thinking to govern my life.

Holy Spirit, I trust Your love and welcome Your correction and direction. I desire to hear Your voice more clearly and become more sensitive to Your leading every day. Quiet the other voices that compete for my attention and help me recognize when You are speaking to my heart. Give me ears to hear, a heart that recognizes Your voice, and the willingness to respond when You speak.

Govern my thoughts, my words, my attitudes, my desires, and my imagination. Show me quickly when I begin moving in a direction that does not agree with Your Word, and remind me that when You correct me, You are leading me toward freedom. I surrender my inner world to Your loving leadership and choose to listen, trust, and follow You. Amen.

Today’s God Imagination

The Holy Spirit governs my life from a heart of perfect love. Fear does not govern me, my flesh does not govern me, my past does not govern me, and the enemy does not govern me. I belong to Jesus, and the Holy Spirit lives within me.

I desire to hear the Holy Spirit more clearly every day. I am becoming more sensitive to His voice, more aware of His correction and direction, and quicker to respond when He speaks. I trust His love, welcome His leadership, and choose to bring every thought, every picture, and every desire under His loving government.