Excerpt taken from my devotional time with God this morning from YouVersion by Francis Chan called Forgotten God.
First, the Holy Spirit is a Person. He is not an indistinct “power” or “thing.” I often hear people refer to the Spirit as an “it,” as if the Spirit is a thing or force that we can control or use. This distinction may seem subtle or trivial, but it is actually a very serious misunderstanding of the Spirit and His role in our lives.
In John 14:17, we read that the Spirit “dwells with you and will be in you.”
- This calls us to a relationship with the Spirit, instead of allowing us to think we can treat the Spirit as a power to be harnessed in order to accomplish our own purposes.
- The Holy Spirit is a Person who has personal relationships with not only believers, as we have seen, but also with the Father and the Son.
- We see the Spirit working in conjunction with the Father and the Son multiple times throughout the Scriptures.
- “the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you” (John 14:17).
- “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations [help the people to learn of Me, believe in Me, and obey My words], baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19).
- “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
Do you ever fall into the trap of seeing the Holy Spirit as an impersonal force instead of a person? How have you tried to “harness” Him instead of having a relationship with Him?
There is so much of the Holy Spirit we underestimate, take advantage of or simply do not comprehend. Some believers are afraid to trust or tap into the Spirit for to be labeled “emotional” or “chasmatic” is not an option. Our fearful choice or misunderstanding harms our ability to live fully reigned within and thus not experience abundant life (John 10:10). We’d rather guard ourselves in human attempt rather then trust the unfailing, unlimited ability of the Father who could have full reign through the Spirit thus producing real life. Is this not His rightful place?
Do we not believe what Jesus said in John 14:26, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.” or the confirmation of 2 Corinthians 1:22, “…set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.“
- Is God still not God?
- Is God still not a keeper of His Words?
- Isn’t the Holy Spirit still the same Holy Spirit as He was then and now?
- Is not Jesus a keeper of His Words?
- Is not the Bible the very breath spoken to us from God Himself for our understanding?
- Does not God still desire an intimate relationship (fellowship) with His children?
Yes! Yes! Yes! and YES!
- Then why do we not believe God?
- Why do we doubt the One who cannot lie? Who has our best in the forefront?
- Why do we choose to live second rate when we could be living the kingdom life (as a child of God that is what we have right now and will have in Heaven for eternity).
- Why do we not trust?
The simple answer is sin–our sinful soul loves to reign self more than be reigned by God.
Want the greater-abundant life?
Fear not the Holy Spirit for He is the ultimate gift from God Himself to you. Release your human hold on yourself to the His control and enjoy what you have been given…the Holy Spirit of God!
In Christ I Am SHE {Saved. Hopeful. Empowered.}
In Christ I am SHE 