My first encounter with using GPS was several years ago in Chicago. One brother Charles had picked me up from O’Hare International Airport. I was a guest speaker at their church anniversary and his pastor had mandated him to provide me with protocol services. Being familiar with the city to a large extent, brother Charles did not strictly follow the routes suggested by the device. Every time we drove contrary to the suggested route, it would re-calculate with a view to bringing us back on course. Then we would head a different direction again. After a while, I began to reason that if it was a human being we were disobeying repeatedly that way, we would have angered him or her. Then I remembered the Holy Spirit, and the scripture for meditation today dropped in my spirit.

The Spirit is not a feeling; He is real…. follow His leading. Compliance, and not contradiction, is the way to walk by the Spirit.

The scripture brings to light a number of things about the Holy Spirit. We understand that we are sealed by Him. That is like making a down payment for something to be carried at a later date. When God sent the Spirit, it is to establish the fact that we are His, and He will one day complete our redemption by bringing us to Himself. Again, given the fact that we are warned not to grieve Him is a clear indication that the Spirit is a distinct personality, having emotions. The Spirit is not a feeling; He is real. Now, how do we guard against getting Him angry? The straight answer is to follow His leading. If we treat the Holy Spirit the way the driver and I treated the GPS, always imposing our way over His, we will end up grieving Him. Compliance, and not contradiction, is the way to walk by the Spirit.