Partnering with the Holy Spirit
I was recently sitting at a table with several ladies who are teachers and ministers in their own right. One of the discussions was around the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. One of the ladies gave a great definition of the Holy Spirit empowers us to stand with our weakness in the strength of Christ. Then another lady said this quote by Graham Cooke
"There are two aspects of the Holy Spirit's ministry: one is his indwelling, the second is His empowering. With indwelling He's causing us to mature and become like Jesus; giving us victory over sin, making us holy and giving us the character of Jesus. With empowering He equips us to serve God; giving us tools for ministry, enabling us to be effective and powerful as supernatural people."
We see this in John 14:26
26 But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.
Let me share a personal story with you.
When we were down in Charlotte doing rehab with Elisha, our son, we were staying at the Ronald McDonald House. We were obligated to meet with a psychologist weekly to let her know how we were doing and how Elisha was doing. My husband, Nate, would be the one to go while I sat with Elisha in his hospital room. One day I felt compelled to go meet with the psychologist. I walked into the room with Nate and sat down on the sofa across from this young woman. She asked us how we were doing. Nate shared for a few minutes. Then I looked at her and I said, “I want you to know the Lord knows you. He knows your heart. You’ve been running from Him for a while but He wants you to know He hasn’t left. He is with you.”
She began to weep.
I went into detail about some things she was facing in her schooling as the tears rolled down her cheeks. When I finished saying what I felt compelled to say she asked me how I knew all of that about her life. I told her I didn’t but the Lord, out of his great love for her, did and He used me to speak into her heart. She then asked me how I do I get “there” with the Lord. I told her I wasn’t “anywhere” really; I just want to be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit wants to do in those around me because someone else’s eternity is far greater than my insecurity. The conversation ended with her saying, “I’m not supposed to say this, but rather than me giving you something today, you gave me something.”
I share that story with you, not to say look at me, but to tell you if God can use someone like me, in all my mess and in all my brokenness then He certainly can and will use you to speak into people’s lives and to set people free.
It’s about Him.
It’s about what He wants to do in this world.
If we are focused on ourselves then we are missing the moments when we can give the Gospel away. If we are blinded by our insecurities then we won’t see the moments the Lord is asking us to step out and to do something impactful for the Kingdom. We are going to have those moments when the Lord is asking us to do something uncomfortable. Guess what? We have the comforter. He is the comforter because He knew we would be uncomfortable at times. God is going to ask us to do something we don’t have the strength to do but, Guess what? The Lord has given us His strength by the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we understand who we are IN Christ and how we partner with the Holy Spirit who lives in us then we will touch lives all around us and change the world.