Spiritual Instincts: We are designed for SUCCESS!

Today we will be focusing on God's perfect design for building success into our lives through the Spiritual Instincts He has sealed us with through the Holy Spirit.

Hunters & Fisherman have Spiritual Instincts too!

My son-in-law LOVES to fish.  And I'm not even sure the word "loves" adequately conveys how much this boy lives to fish!  lol.  He mostly does catch and release fishing, but sometimes, when he catches a keeper size striped bass, he will bring it home and prepare it.  When he and my daughter lived with us I got to see first hand what it really means to prep a fish.  First and foremost, all the blood must be drained from the fish and then the filleting begins.  A somewhat gruesome procedure, but necessary in order to actually eat the fish.

Those who are hunters also know that in order to prepare any type of game for eating, all the blood must be drained from the animals bodies.

Is this a spiritual instinct or common sense?  Let's see what God's Word says...

“If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people.  For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood.

 “Any one also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.  For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life. Therefore I have said to the people of Israel, You shall not eat the blood of any creature, for the life of every creature is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.  And every person who eats what dies of itself or what is torn by beasts, whether he is a native or a sojourner, shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening; then he shall be clean.  But if he does not wash them or bathe his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.”

Leviticus 17:10-16

I found this portion of Scripture actually encouraging.  You are probably thinking, "Really Karen!?!".  But as I meditated on these verses, my mind went to the average fisherman and hunter who instinctively knows that the fish or animal's life's blood must be drained from it before preparing and ultimately eating.  Now I'm sure that a love for fishing and hunting is easily passed down from generation to generation.  A dad taking his son out on his first fishing trip or hunting trip, instills a love for the sport.  As the child watches his father, he learns the proper way of preparing fish or game.  But then I wondered, was this knowledge preserved and passed down all the way from the time of Leviticus until now!  OR, as the Word of God states,  "They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts" Romans 2:15a.  

The more I thought about this, the more fascinated I became!

I've always wondered why the animal kingdom runs on instinct, but mankind doesn't seem to have any instincts, per se, but more operates from learned behaviors.  {To read more about how God specifically designed His creation with instincts so that WE would bring Him Glory head over to my post Your Backyard - God's Holy Ground which you can read HERE.}

Where do Spiritual Instincts Come From?

But when I read these verses regarding the laws about not eating blood, I realized, indeed, the Lord has built spiritual instincts into our hearts.  Those instincts are an outpouring from the law written upon our hearts and the Holy Spirits activity in our lives.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

Ezekiel 36:26-27

I read this verse in Ezekiel last night and I was stopped in my tracks by the verbs which are underlined and italicized above...

Do you see that?!  The Holy Spirit WILL CAUSE you to walk in the Lord's statutes, KEEP His judgments and DO them!  Now there's a spiritual instinct!

I don't know about you, but I felt a sense of relief when the Truth of those words sunk in.   If you are like me, there is still a part inside that strives towards obedience trying to do it in my own strength.  But I don't have to!  The Lord has designed me with all the tools for Spiritual success!  Like the bird who instinctively starts building a nest when it innately knows that there will be baby birds on the way, I too have instincts, spiritual instincts, for life and Godliness.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness 

through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

2 Peter 1:3

As I have been reading through the Old Testament, particularly Exodus and Leviticus, I am seeing a pattern of the Lord providing EVERYTHING the Israelites needed for successful obedience.  He was there every step of the way guiding and instructing them.  There was no command where He did not offer a promise or encouragement to spur them on for success.

But the key for the Israelites was to listen to what the Lord was saying...

In the same way, we have the Spirit within us who whispers in our ear, this is the way walk in it, but we need to listen...  We need to keep short accounts with the Lord so that our hearts do not become hardened and the voice of the Holy Spirit becomes dimmed.  We need to stay in the Word, which hones our spiritual instincts.

We are designed for SUCCESS!

Even still, we who are God's children, WILL DO that which is according to God's will even when we allow ourselves to go against our spiritual instincts.

We have Biblical examples of this...

Paul on the road to Damascus

Jonah and the whale

Just to name a couple...

You get my gist.  I'm sure you can think of times in your life where you had everything all planned out.  How you envisioned your life was supposed to go, but God, who is rich in mercy and love, changed that path into an entirely new direction.  It may actually have been an even harder direction which caused you to question your faith...

Take heart and be encouraged, everything that the Lord allows to touch our lives, the good and the bad, gives us opportunity to use our spiritual instincts to the fullest, and to see that God IS our strength.

{For additional encouragement about success in the Christian life, please head over to my post, The Great Rewarder:  How to spurn on obedience, which you can read HERE.}

Stay in tune with your spiritual instincts and 

you will enjoy the success you were designed for!

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