It’s easy to get led astray without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Over time, influences such as friends, coworkers, and television can erode truths that were already established in your heart through the Word of God. Suddenly, biblical truths seem “outdated” or “fanatical,” and the opinions of others have more influence over what you once studied.
Could this really happen to you? Read 2 Timothy 4:3, NLT.
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.
Unless you guard your heart from anything outside divine truth.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future (John 16:13, NLT).
You can learn to be led by the Holy Spirit and avoid being swept away by deception. To learn divine truth for your life, study God’s Word and apply what you have learned in your life. Then, you’ll see how the Holy Spirit guides you in these three vital ways.
1. Lean Not on Your Own Understanding
Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us on how to allow the Lord to direct our steps by not relying on our own understanding to make life decisions. That goes against the natural grain, but it’s the only safe way to live.
Our own understanding is often led by emotion or limited facts. It’s fickle, ever-changing, and often driven by the opinions of others that sound right in the moment. The only truth is found in God’s Word. It can be challenging to stand up for the truth if you don’t know the scriptures. Too many Christians are ill-equipped to stand for truth.
The Holy Spirit will help you, but God will “hasten over [His] word to perform it” (Jeremiah 1:12, KJV). Trusting God’s Word, and not our own understanding, is to make that a reality in your life.
2. Pull Down Strongholds
A stronghold is a deeply ingrained personal belief system that colors a person’s perception of themselves and those around them. It can come from a cultural norm, a political ideology, religious traditions or even a social movement.
Of strongholds, Andrew Wommack says, “The one who is holding to the stronghold may not wish to be against God in their thinking, but the stronghold is so deeply rooted that they aren’t even aware that they are filtering God’s Truth through the lens of the stronghold. Strongholds allow deception.”
The fundamental characteristic of deception is that the one who is deceived doesn’t know it. The stronghold has become an integral part of their approach to life and their pursuit of truth. Even Truth must be shaped and filtered to fit the mold of the stronghold.”
We battle strongholds in the spiritual realm through prayer, binding wrong spirits and speaking the Word of God. That’s why 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, ESV tells us where to focus in prayer.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
3. Put God First Place in Your Life
The only surefire way to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into divine truth is to know His voice and hear it louder than any other voice in your life. And the only way to know His still, small voice is to put God first place in your life.
You do this by:
- Spend time with Him every day—in His Word and in prayer.
- Pray continuously throughout your day.
- Remember to pray in the Holy Spirit! As Kenneth Copeland says, ” When you speak with the tongues of men and angels in love, you can find out anything.”
- Seek Him all week long—not just on Sundays.
- Allow Him to bring correction to your heart.
- Be open to hearing from Him on all matters.
- Look in His Word in its entirety for answers.
When you truly desire to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you into divine truth, He will. Don’t become so stuck in your ways that you fail to see the truth right in front of you. Be willing to be wrong—be humble and teachable. Then, you will be free from deception and walk in the light of the truth all the days of your life.
Watch Kenneth Copeland on Believer’s Voice of Victory to learn how to strengthen your inner man and stay prepared for challenging times.
© 1997 – 2025 Eagle Mountain International Church Inc., DBA Kenneth Copeland Ministries. All Rights Reserved.
