Four Words That Keep You On Track

You want to follow God and you are not always sure whether you are. Paul handed Timothy a short compass for that, not a personality test.

2 Timothy 2:22 says, "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Righteousness, faith, love, peace. Four words worth checking yourself against.

Righteousness comes first, and this is the one people get backwards. You are not chasing righteousness so God will accept you. He already made you righteous in Christ, so stop letting religion hang a weight on you that Jesus already carried.

Then faith and love. Faith rises in you when God has spoken, so if something is stirring belief in your chest, that is Him and not wishful thinking. Love is the other tell, because a heart going cold toward people is a heart drifting, and His love is the very thing He already poured into you to give away.

Peace guards the rest. Isaiah 26:3 says, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." When something starts pulling your peace apart, that is a signal worth listening to. The Holy Spirit leads through peace far more often than He leads through pressure.

None of this is a checklist to pass. It is a description of what a day looks like when the Spirit in you is running it, and He is already in you. Follow the peace and let Him handle the direction.