“The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16ff). How does He assure us as we go through this life? Remember, Who wrote the Bible? The Spirit of God according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 2. He ‘revealed these words.’ By reading the Word of God, we can be reassured we are living life as God directs.
Don’t we feel assured when we are traveling into a new city, perhaps looking for the house of a friend who lives in that city, and our partner in the car is reading a map? By noting the various street names, we check off our route to the friend’s house.
Spiritually speaking, our partner traveling life’s journey is the Holy Spirit. As we face struggles in life, we check with His Word, which is the roadmap to heaven. Familiar signposts include: “Putting first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33), “worshipping in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24), “stealing no more, but working with our hands what is good that we may have to give to others in their time of need” (Ephesians 4:28), “being called, chosen and faithful” (Revelation 17:14), having each service in life mixed with love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3), “marking those who cause division” (Romans 16:17) and being “willing to forgive others from the heart” (Matthew 18:35).
By checking off the signposts, just as surely as we check off the street names, we are steadily moving toward the goal of heaven itself, directed by the assurance of the Holy Spirit whose words direct us (1 Corinthians 2).
