Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, “behold an Israelite indeed in who is no guile!” John 1:47
The definition of “guile” according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary: deceitful, cunning, duplicity. When Jesus saw Nathaniel, coming from afar–he knew his character. This past Sunday, drawing on the Asbury University inspiration, our pastor shared his heart for a greater connection with Jesus. With tears and much emotion, he simply shared his pastors heart–wanting each of us to know Him. He wants to lead our church simply and purely as the Holy Spirit leads. No copying others, but letting the Holy Spirit lead as He wills. As he was sharing, I felt the Lord speak to me, “a man without guile”. Tears came to my eyes, and I thought, Oh Lord, we need more guileless men.
Guileless men are men and woman that you can trust. You know their agenda, nothing hidden, no manipulation, just transparency. These are leaders that inspire followers. Their love for God surpasses their need to be seen as perfect. They point to Jesus. They are clothed in humility and His righteousness.
The thought then came to my mind, “what would it look like if God had an army of “men and women without guile?” What could He do, if we simply let go of any duplicity and deceit and simply followed Him? Galatians 5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. (NLT) We cannot do it on our own. We must let the Holy Spirit lead and guide us. It will mean we lay down our agenda. It will mean we choose His will over our will. It will mean that we humble ourselves to lift up His name. It may mean we seek the blessing of others over ourselves. We put ourselves second. We let go of striving, and simply walk with our Master. Learning to be content with what He has called us to do.
Maybe it means we get out of our own comfort zone, our own routine and allow His will to lead us down and through some difficult paths for His names sake. But, we can do it. We can do whatever He calls us to. It means we let go of jealousy, pride and selfishness, and we follow Him. It means we allow Him to help us learn to really love others. We let love become our highest goal and are willing to pay the price, no matter what it costs. To walk in “guile” is to walk after the works of the flesh, something does not bear good fruit. But if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through our lives, we too can be like Nathaniel, men and women without guile, because we trust Him and His will to be sufficient for us! His will is our best life…why wouldn’t we want to have it?
Father, please help us to learn to be led by your Spirit. To let go of those things that trip us up and lead us away from your perfect will. Purge our hearts today. As we choose to follow Your leadership strengthen us. Deal with any area of our hearts that are deceitful, cunning and duplicitous, in Jesus’ Name.
Faith Encounters 