Approaching God for anything must never be with half measures. We need 100% reliance on His counsel and might. It is important to know that the Lord is able to finish any work He started provided we allow Him, and remain attuned to the Spirit. The problem many people have is that they try to mix a bit of flesh with the doings of the Spirit, and the two cannot mix. This is the line of thought which Paul penned down for the Galatians – “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” (Galatians 5:17).

Approaching God for anything must never be with half measures. We need 100% reliance on His counsel and might.

The lead scripture today provides a clear illustration. On hearing about the birth of Jesus, wise men came to look for Him. God led them supernaturally through a star in the sky all the way from the East until they came to the land of Israel. I have no doubt that the star knew that the Child was not in Jerusalem but Bethlehem. This is proven conclusively from our text as the same star eventually led them all the way through when they came out of the King’s court. The question is this: how did they end up in Jerusalem at first? I believe they shifted focus from the star that had guided them earlier to the wisdom of man. They must have reasoned that if a King was born, the right place to find him would be in the King’s palace. As long as they reasoned that way, they entered a blind spot where God could no longer lead them. Whenever we shift to the flesh, the Holy Spirit becomes inactive.