The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. —Romans 8:11
About six weeks ago, our pastor gave a message from the pulpit that launched me on a spiritual journey, which continues today. You can read my first post regarding this titled “Forgotten God.” His assurance that most of us don’t give as much consideration to the Holy Spirit as we should resonated with me. I’ve read through the Bible multiple times, and I’ve often stumbled over verses such as Romans 8:11 and Matthew 17:20—”I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” This was Jesus’ response to His disciples when they asked why they were unable to drive a demon out of a young boy.
Wouldn’t you love to have faith enough to do the impossible? But to be perfectly honest, aren’t most of us content to serve God in ways that don’t tax our strength or push us to do more than we’re humanly capable of? We serve a little here, donate a little there, and ignore the conviction of the Spirit that there is more for us than the bare minimum—if only we trusted in Him. I doubt that Jim Elliot and his team of missionaries would’ve been capable of laying down their lives when confronted by Huaorani warriors, if they’d been working in their own strength.
The third Person of the Triune God is often overlooked. I know I’ve been guilty of this. I’m never quite sure what to do about Him. So, when my pastor launched into a series of sermons on the Holy Spirit, it motivated me to take it a step further. What I came away with is that it’s a life-long journey—one of dying to self every day and stepping out in faith to do what I can never do on my own. Scary, isn’t it? Most of us don’t have to fear for our lives, but we cower in the face of rejection or humiliation.
I purchased the book Experiencing the Spirit by Henry and Melvin Blackaby and Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan and devoured them. There are a lot of similarities between these two books, but here was an eye-opener for me in Blackaby’s book: Our spiritual gift is generally not something we are already competent at doing. Otherwise, why would we need the Holy Spirit to do it? When we’re gifted through the Spirit, it’s God who gets the glory, not us.
This was a little deflating for me, but it makes perfect sense. We may have character traits that the Lord uses, but they’re not necessarily spiritual gifts. For example, my husband has a natural inclination to serve others. If someone needs volunteers, he generally jumps right in. It brings him joy. I always assumed serving was his spiritual gift. However he doesn’t need to draw strength from the Holy Spirit to do it. But when he’s led to share the gospel with a stranger or asked to preach in front of our church, he can’t do it on his own.
Last year, I was asked to speak at a women’s luncheon at our church. I agreed, even though I am not a gifted speaker, and I truly do not like to be the center of attention. It was an honor to be considered, and it was an opportunity to share what the Lord has done in my life. “We’d like you to talk about your writing journey,” the pastor’s wife said. That seemed easy enough, but the closer the time came, the more panic began to set in. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to hear me speak. Especially not about myself. How self-centered would that sound?
When I stepped up to the podium, I was terrified. My heart was beating so hard, it was a wonder the audience didn’t hear it over the microphone. But something amazing happened—the Holy Spirit took over. I remember the first line, and that’s it. I only looked down at my notes when it was time to read a scripture verse—and even that was by His hand, not mine. It was effortless once I surrendered it to Him. Left up to me, I would have stumbled along and made a mess of the whole thing.
In reading Experiencing the Spirit and Forgotten God, it’s easy for me to see where I fail to pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s lead—out of fear, busyness, or complacency. I thank God that I’m covered by the blood of Christ. One question Henry Blackaby asked was if we could look back and see the Spirit’s work in our life. If not, then we need to consider if we’re really walking with the Lord. And although I do see His hand in my life, I do not surrender as I know I should. I’m like the man who stood before Jesus in Mark 9:24. When asked if he believed, he answered, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”
God wants to use us for His glory, and when we’re obedient to follow His lead, no matter how scary, He will bless us. No obedience, no blessing. It’s a gift. We just need to be bold enough to open it. But our motivation shouldn’t be what we get out of it—but what we can give in His name. Does God need us to achieve His plan and purpose? Absolutely not. But I truly want to serve a Creator who was mindful of me before I was conceived, knit me in my mother’s womb, and predestined me to be His. What about you?
Comments 2
Powerful! And another reminder (which I apparently need daily) of just Who the Holy Spirit is in our lives’
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Thank you so much for your input.