Today I'm combining letters R & S. I've given these two letters a lot of thought over the last few days anticipating their arrival onto my blog. I thought about a fire and brimstone post about Repentance and Salvation. I thought about our Risen Savior. Lot's of ways I could have gone....but God has gifted us with the Holy Spirit and I just feel led to post about our reliance on that Spirit. So without further ado....buckle your seatbelts...here we go....
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you,
no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ~ John 3:5
“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."- Matthew 3:11
When we accept the Holy Spirit into our lives, we are allowing it to convict us, mold us, shape us, and lead us. Sometimes we can feel it, sometimes we just respond to it. I know that I personally can feel the Holy Spirit when I'm confronted with a response that is driven by God. Usually regarding my testimony or sharing moments of my life with others. As I type this, my heart is pounding. It's hard to put myself out there through writing for the world to see.
I've had two instances in my life where I knew the Holy Spirit had taken over. Two significant events where I knew that my reaction was not my own but rather that of God and the work of the Holy Spirit within me covering the situation.
January 2000. I was a new single mom to a little bundle and we had just gotten home from the hospital. My family came over to welcome Matthew and I home and we shared a meal together. Everything was fine until I realized, everyone was leaving and I was going to be alone with Matthew. Fear set in. What if I didn't hear him cry? What if I didn't wake up to feed him? What if he stopped breathing during the night? What if, what if, what if??? And then my Dad pulled me into the kitchen and we sat at the table and he prayed over me.
I don't remember all the words he said but I do recall that he specifically asked the Holy Spirit to prompt me to wake up before Matthew so that I would have time to adjust to what care Matthew may need. I remember him asking God to help me to fall asleep and get good sleep. I remember feeling a peace wash over me. Then it was just me & my little man.
I got him settled and into his cradle, right next to where I was sleeping and I crawled into bed myself. I closed my eyes, trying with all my might, to let the fears disappear and hoping sleep would come quickly. And then, the strangest thing happened. I kid you not but, my bed began rocking, ever so slightly, as if I was being rocked to sleep. Ever so gently, back and forth until I feel into a peaceful, restful sleep. And then, after what felt like hours of sleep, I woke up a full 15 minutes before Matthew began to cry. I was awake, alert and ready to tackle whatever my boy needed. My fear of sleeping through his cries, gone! Praise be to God! That my friends is the Holy Spirit at work. Flash forward to August of 2016. Matthew and I had not lived in Tennessee very long. Chris moved to the south in March and Matthew and I stayed in Minnesota until school was done for the year. It was a sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. I had picked up Matthew from school and we were running a quick errand before heading home. Matthew and I were chatting about his day and his new school as we were driving down the road. Three cars ahead of us had stopped and so I too slowed down to a complete stop. That's when I felt the urge to look in the rear view mirror. There was a car about a half mile back and for whatever reason, I turned the vehicle we were in so the wheels were facing the shoulder. I was calm and kept Matthew talking about school when BAM! We were jolted forward and off onto the shoulder, completely missing the car in front of us. We'd taken a rear end hit.
You may be thinking I'm crazy. That these two significant events didn't happen this way but I have to tell you, they did. I know there are moments everyday where the Holy Spirit intercedes on my behalf. Moments that I am unaware of because I'm doing my life, my way. But God allows us so many opportunities to see the Holy Spirit in action. All we have to do is take a moment and pay attention. 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 said to you. ~John 14:26
The Holy Spirit has been around for awhile. This isn't a new "thing" for us to understand. It was the Holy Spirit that told Mary she was to have a son, Jesus. It was the Holy Spirit that told Joseph he was to marry Mary and go to Bethlehem.. It was the Holy Spirit that told Elizabeth she was to have a son, John. How blessed are we to be able to be part of the same Holy Spirit that God has shared from those earliest of Bible stories to today.
Relying on the Holy Spirit is what God desires for us. Be baptized and accept this gift from God. Allow yourself to be overtaken by the comfort the Spirit within you can bring. In times of crisis, it is there. In times of praise, it is there. In all ways, it is there, within you. What a gift. How amazing that our God has the ability to give us such a gift. Without the work of the Holy Spirit within us, we are helpless.
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. John 14:16-18
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