July 17

Read: Psalms 25:8-10

Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the lest (Isaiah 30:21).

Guidance Of The Holy Spirit

“How can we know when we have crossed the line from legitimate satisfaction of hunger to gluttony, from sensitiveness to self-pity, from zeal to envy, and from holy to unholy speech?

“I have spoken of ‘crossing the line.’ Actually there is an area between that which is clearly and wholly for the glory of God and that which is clearly and wholly for the glory of the isolated self — a sort of twilight zone. As one enters it, the Spirit begins to whisper words of caution. These grow more intense as we approach the line. Crossing, there is a feeling of condemnation and guilt which intensifies the further we go. It is not simple, partly because of our dullness of hearing and perception, and partly because of the complex nature of the situation — the intertwining of the legitimate with the sinful in that shaded area… It is impossible to reduce the matter to simple rules or to define exactly the line in all cases. We are shut up to the voice of the Spirit as our only guide.

“No man can tell me when I cross the line, nor can I tell another when he crosses his line. Nor is there any set of rules which will help either of us… It is a living way and nothing short of the Living Spirit of God dwelling within us can solve our problem. But He does guide us! There is never a time when we are in danger of crossing one of these lines but that He faithfully speaks! Yet never thunderously — only with a still small voice. We can always hear — if we listen!” (The Spirit of Holiness, by Everett Lewis Cattell)

He leadeth met. Oh, blessed tho’t. Oh, words with heav’nly comfort fraught. Whate’er I do, where’er I be, Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

— Joseph H. Gilmore