Experiencing His Heart
by Kyle Abel
Day 1:
Who/What is the Holy Spirit?
Guys…I LOVE Star Wars! The lightsabers, the starships, the droids, the weird alien creatures, it is all so cool to me as a big sci-fi fan. However, Star Wars may be responsible for one of the biggest theological misunderstandings in my faith journey. Let me explain what I mean…
In Star Wars, there is a mystical power called “the Force”. The Force is a non-personal, spiritual entity that binds the Star Wars universe together and enables life to transpire. It is everywhere and in everything. Certain life forms such as the Jedi and the Sith are able to tap into the force and manipulate it to lift objects without touching them, push enemies away, or even shoot lightning from their fingertips. Okay…I’ll stop the nerd lesson there.
Obviously, I know Star Wars is a fictional universe and the Force isn’t real, but the concept of the Force initially affected how I saw the Holy Spirit. I thought the Holy Spirit was non-personal, was mostly a big mystery, and just showed up randomly from time to time to perform miracles. As it turns out, The Holy Spirit is not like the Force at all. He is the third person of the Trinity. He is a person. He may not take a physical form, but He seeks to move our hearts, shape our character, and guide our daily decisions. The Holy Spirit’s actions are not random or meaningless and His role is actually clearly defined in Scripture (we’ll explore that more in Day 2).
Most importantly, in John 16, Jesus, Himself, promised to send the Holy Spirit to be an advocate for His disciples. The Spirit is not only a person, He is a person who is for us!
So, for today let’s try something simple you may have never done before- say a prayer to the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t have to fit a certain format or pattern, just talk to Him like you would address a friend, a family member, or Jesus Himself.
Recognize the Holy Spirit as a person in complete unity with God the Father and Jesus the Son, but also one who has a unique role to play in your life. Let today be the start or a reunion with God’s personal, ever-present Spirit.
Day 2:
What does the Holy Spirit do?
We know much more about the Holy Spirit from Scripture than you may realize. The Holy Spirit…
Regenerates us (John 3:6-7)
Convicts us (John 16:8)
Empowers us with gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)
Testifies in our hearts that we are God’s children (Galatians 4:6)
Leads us (Galatians 18, 25)
Makes us fruitful (Galatians 5:22-23)
Grants and nurtures resurrection life in us (Romans 8:11)
Enables us to defeat sin (Romans 8:13)
Intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray (Romans 8:26-27)
Guides us into truth (John 16:13)
Transforms us into the image of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Whoa…that’s a pretty stacked job description! And now, I want to get out of the way to give you some time to reflect on this question for today: which part of the Spirit’s role do you need to experience today? Are you struggling with habitual sin that you need the Holy Spirit’s guidance to overcome? Do you have a big decision to make and need the Holy Spirit’s guidance? Do you need a fresh start with God today?
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God is described as God’s ruach (pronounced roo-akh), which is Hebrew for breath. It’s the part of Him that He is breathing into our world and is moving among His people. As you pray for the Holy Spirit’s work in your life, take deep breaths and breathe in God’s presence through His personal Spirit.
Day 3:
What does the Holy Spirit mean to me?
Jesus was pretty big on experiencing and being rather than just knowing and doing. His biggest opponents, the Pharisees, knew a lot about God and obeyed the entire Law. In fact, they had the whole Torah (first five books of the Bible) memorized! And yet, even after being with the Son of God, asking Him their big questions, and seeing His works, many of them were still against Jesus, to the point of encouraging the Romans to execute Him. But those who had a relationship with Jesus and followed Him with their hearts as well as their heads saw Him for who He really was and through Him, their lives were changed forever.
The Holy Spirit is who takes our understanding of Christ’s love for us from our heads to our hearts. He helps us experience Jesus’ love. Dane Ortlund, the author of Gentle and Lowly, says the Holy Spirit’s work “...turns the recipe into actual taste” and “...turns our postcard apprehensions of Christ’s great heart of longing affection for us into an experience of sitting on the beach, in a lawn chair, drink in hand, enjoying the actual experience.” The presence of the Holy Spirit truly makes a night-and-day difference in our faith journey!
For me, this is what changed me from a kid who grew up in a Christian home to a follower of Jesus. I knew a lot about Jesus from Sunday school, but it took me coming to the end of myself and experiencing His grace when I didn’t deserve it to truly understand deep in my soul that this man, Jesus, was everything. I believe this experience was the work of the Holy Spirit encountering me in a time when I needed Him most.
For reflection:
1. Do you have a similar story where you can look back and see the Spirit’s work in your life?
2. Have you truly encountered the Holy Spirit?
3. What would it take to have a fresh encounter with Him?
Day 4:
Come Holy Spirit
Sometimes, repetition is associated with the mundane and is more likely to leave us bored and worn out rather than rejuvenated. Other times, repetition can develop a skill (like practicing scales on your banjo), build relationships (like showing up to all your kid’s tee ball games), or retain knowledge (like memorizing your favorite Taylor Swift song…or…uh…studying for a test!).
In the Orthodox tradition, there is a prayer called the Jesus prayer, which is designed for repetition. The words are simply, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.” As a person repeats these words over and over, they are drawn deeper into multiple layers of thought and prayer. They experience the power of calling Jesus “Lord”, the awe of Christ’s divinity, the richness of His mercy, and repentance for their sins.
Today, I want to invite you into a spiritual exercise of repetition related to the Holy Spirit. It’s also really simple. Throughout your day, slowly repeat the phrase, “Come Holy Spirit”. Before you walk into school- “Come Holy Spirit.” Before that meeting starts- “Come Holy Spirit”. As you are driving, “Come Holy Spirit.” Let this prayer be on your mind today.
Now, if you are a follower of Jesus, you ALWAYS have access to the presence of the Holy Spirit. However, when we invite the Holy Spirit to come and fill us, that’s when we open ourselves up more to His work in our lives. The invitation, “Come Holy Spirit” not only invites Him to take the wheel, but also opens up our minds to look for Kingdom opportunities. We become conscious and awake to the things of the Kingdom thanks to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This surrender to the Spirit of God can completely change our days as we let Him in. School becomes a mission field. The meeting becomes an opportunity for peacemaking. Driving becomes a reflective, worshipful oasis.
Does that seem too good to be true? I get that skepticism. I’ve been there! But I’ve also experienced the fruit of this invitation first hand and I want you to taste it too. Give it a shot and I believe you’ll be amazed at how the Spirit shapes your thoughts and actions throughout your day.
Come Holy Spirit.