|
"The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them."
Proverbs 11:3
The Apostle Paul made a very interesting statement when he said, "For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). None of us have the ability to know perfectly everything we face in life. We aren't gifted to be mind-readers. We can't always know what lies ahead. There are many things in life that we find ourselves guessing at, simply because we don't know all the facts. I am certain that every true and faithful believer desires making the right decisions in every situation. But how many times have we found ourselves trying to sort out mistakes we have made because even our best guess wasn't always the right one?
Thank God for the inner witness of the Holy Spirit!
What we don't know he is there to help us know by means of his own inner guidance system.I love the verse in First John chapter two: "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1 John 2:20). We really don't know "all" things, but we have the "knower" living in us who does!And when we learn how to follow his lead, we have the guarantee we can be in the right place at the right time, being able to make the right turn at the right moment, and say or do the right thing when it counts the most.
God has given us a wonderful gift called memory. With it we have the ability to look back and learn from things out of our past. It can even serve as an important tool in helping us to avoid repeating the pain of the past. But memory is not always a guide for future things. That is why we have to learn how to trust the Holy Spirit on the inside. He knows the future better than we know the past.
One of the most distinctive ways that the Holy Spirit guides us is by our conscience. All throughout the writings of the Apostle Paul he makes mention of caring for our conscience (Acts 23:1; 24:16; Romans 9:1; 2Corinthians 1:12; 1 Timothy 1:5; 1:19; 3:9; Hebrews 13:18). It would do us well to feed on these verses until we realize how valuable a pure conscience can be.
Conscience is the voice of our spirit. As the Holy Spirit communicates with our spirit, we then hear what it is we need to hear through our conscience. The danger with many is that they fail to keep a pure and good conscience. That is how folks wind up making shipwreck of their faith. They lose the tenderness of conscience, and by doing so, they distance themselves from the witness of the Holy Spirit.
I believe God wants to guide us even in the minor details of life. And the way he is going to do that is through our conscience. That is where this word integrity comes into play. Integrity has to do with our conscience. Solomon said,
"The integrity of the upright shall guide them" (Proverbs 11:3).You may not always feel you have the answer to life's questions, but if you will keep your integrity (innocent of hypocrisy and pureness of conviction), then your heart will be sensitive to pick up on the promptings of the Holy Ghost and he will in turn safely guide you through the uncertainties that may lie ahead.
Keeping a tender conscience means never violating your heart. As you maintain a constant vigil to follow the integrity of your heart you can trust God's inner guidance system to help you make right decisions in life (Proverbs 4:23). Just remember: the purer things are on the inside the more distinct the inner witness, and the clearer the witness the greater chance you have of avoiding the pain of making the wrong choices in life.
| 
