Riley here. Because I last posted twice in a row and because I highly value diverse perspectives, I decided to take a break from talking loudly at the Internet. Hopefully this will not be the last time that a guest writer shares their thoughts with this blog, but for this week I want to extend special gratitude to Deryn Pieterse for her contribution. May her words bless and challenge you as they have myself.
Have you ever received a gift and let it sit to gather dust in the back of your closet? I know I have. The gifts that end up there seem to be things that were given with pure intentions but because we know ourselves better than anyone else, we decide that we don’t really see the use for them. They are set aside to be forgotten.
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Have you ever received a gift and let it sit to gather dust in the back of your closet? I know I have. The gifts that end up there seem to be things that were given with pure intentions but because we know ourselves better than anyone else, we decide that we don’t really see the use for them. They are set aside to be forgotten.
I’m about to be uncomfortably honest - but for most of my life, next to the ill fitting clothing and books I’ve never read, sat a box in the top of my closet. That box is where I placed the Holy Spirit. “Woah now…you’re telling me, you attempted to place the Spirit of GOD... in a box… in your closet?” I know. I know. It sounds kinda stupid and completely misses the point, but that was reality for me.
As a young teen, I was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I had waited some time to make this decision because I wanted to make it for myself. I wanted it to be separate from the fact that I had grown up in the church. After accepting all three that day, I expected things to finally make sense. I felt that it was fairly simple to understand and accept that God was my Father and Jesus Christ was my Savior… but what business did I have with the Spirit of God? I decided that of the three, the Spirit was the one I didn’t understand. I recognized that the Spirit had worked frequently and greatly in the Bible but had no use working in someone as average as me. I was not capable of leading a nation or parting a sea. I was just another girl. What I did understand about the Spirit is that it helped me to recognize my sin and turn from it. That was a step in the right direction but I didn’t allow it to be anything more.
I missed it y’all.
Let me ask, what does the Spirit of God mean to you? Take a minute and really think about how you would explain the Spirit to someone who had no knowledge of it. It’s not an easy task. The Holy Spirit is not an easy Bible class answer. I can assure you that the Spirit is working in ways that we do not have the capability of understanding. I do not claim to understand the gift I’ve been given but here are my humble offerings. Glimpses of understanding, experience, and what I’ve come to love:
- The Spirit is not one of three; it is three of three.
In John 14, Jesus is speaking on the gift of the Holy Spirit: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (John 14:16-20) Where you find one, you will find evidence of all three.
- The Spirit is our guide.
The Lord gave us His Spirit to walk alongside us. As mentioned in the verse above, the Holy Spirit was given to be an advocate, a fighter for you in times of weakness. Not only to be a presence but to be a guide. “Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:5-8
- The Spirit is patient.
Wow. The Lord has been patient with me. I have wandered for years. I have rejected His tugs on my heart for my own desires, again and again. We worship a steadfast God. I firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is persistent. If there is something that you are meant to encounter through the Spirit’s leading, you will encounter it. I have found the Spirit most clearly when I opened my eyes and ears to the way that things are playing out right in front of my path. Sometimes this illustrates itself through encountering the same topic, person, or opportunity a few times through the course of a week. When I was deciding what topic to write this post about, I saw a common theme of impact in my life. Recently, I felt that I couldn’t have a spiritual conversation or attend a sermon without hearing something about the nature of the Lord’s spirit. Yeah, I know, it’s a pretty common topic. It was different though. It was as if my ears had a heightened sense to the word. In my small group we had talked about the fruits of the spirit and read the verse in Galatians that says "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Maybe it was the band nerd coming out, but I couldn’t seem to shake the phrase. That week, I felt a heightened sense of conviction and prompting to go out of my way for others. So I decided to talk about what has most recently been on my heart. All of this to say - When I take time to step back and look outside of myself, to listen to the cries of those around me, to connect the patterns and repetitions - I find the Spirit.
- The Spirit is FOR us.
I think back to why I (attempted to) put God’s Spirit in a box. Not only did I not understand His Spirit but I felt soooo unworthy. How could a God of absolute purity and holiness want to place His Spirit in me? If we go back to the story of Jesus dying on a cross, the message is clear. His death took away our sins so that we may live by grace. But what comes next? I love the imagery that follows as the Bible paints the moment Jesus gives up His spirit. “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open.” The power of His sacrifice shook the earth and tore the veil. The significance of the veil is gripping stuff. The temple veil was a thick, massive curtain that surrounded the most holy place, the presence of God. This curtain was a protective barrier between the holiness of God and the sinful nature of man. Once a year, the High Priest was allowed into this space only after making himself ceremonially clean. Anyone else that tried to enter into the most holy space, would immediately die from the power of His presence. Y’ALL. THE VEIL WAS RIPPED IN TWO! Not only were our sins washed away that day but we were given the open invitation to be intimate with the holiest being. There is nothing that can separate us from God. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“As his parables murmured of a message deeper than harvest or homecomings, so his miracles murmured of a transformation deeper than the calming of the tempest or the healing of disease. They pointed to the most dumbfounding miracle of all: the display of his power to transform the human heart from stone to flesh. That our hearts could be made a dwelling place more suitable for the Spirit of the Lord than a tabernacle or a temple is miraculous on a scale we cannot fathom.” (None Like Him by Jen Wilkin)
The Holy Spirit is the most precious gift that has ever been given to me. As simple as it seems, it took me years to see that my creator knew what was best for me. The reckless love of God chased me down and fought till I was found. He placed Himself in the midst of my being. He allowed me the highest honor, by creating Himself a place on the throne of my heart. His body was broken. The veil was torn. All so that we could come close. His power was made evident in His ability to transform our sinful hearts into His dwelling place. May we cling to His Spirit til the day we are able to be reunited with Him in the place being prepared for us. My prayer is that we will lean into His Spirit, pulling it to the forefront of our focus. May we see that we need to be nothing more than a willing vessel. That is all that He asks of us. All he asks is that we give up our lives to be used to lead nations and part seas. He has the power to carry those things out if we will only let Him! May we quiet our hearts in pursuit of what He is placing there.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
-DNP-
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