Having followed the Spirit to the State Park, Anna meets her friend Bonnie unexpectedly. Bonnie wants advice about her husband. "What should I do about him?" Bonnie asks. Anna prays in her mind, "Holy Spirit, what do you desire for Bonnie and her husband?" Anna predetermined that her answer will be whatever the Spirit desires for Bonnie and her husband.
If you are like Anna, and your mind is fixed on the Spirit's desire so that it predetermines how you see and respond to every situation, then you know that you are following the Spirit right now.
Your focus is the Spirit's desire, not your own desire or anyone else's desire. So you look at life through the eye glasses of this question, "Is this what the Spirit desires?" If the answer is yes, your predetermined response is yes. If it is no, your predetermined response is no.
Those who follow themselves, or "the flesh," have a fixed mental focus as well, "Is this what I want?" If yes, their predetermined answer is yes. If no, their predetermined answer is no. Another mother would have simply decided what she wanted to do that day. If she felt like going to the State Park, she goes. If she feels like listening to the problem of a friend, she listens. But if not, she's got other things on her mind that predetermine how she will see her friend, and how she will respond to her friend.
Look at your own mindset, the natural tendency of your interpretations and responses to life. What is your "fixed mental disposition?" Your desires or the Spirit's desires? How do you define your day today, and how do you determine how you will respond to situations and people you meet? How will you know that you are following the Spirit in these situations?
The easiest way to know you are following the Spirit is to know your mindset.
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