Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. I heard these words sung by the saints as I was growing up. It was a moving song, and I can appreciate why it could evoke so much emotion the way it was sung. Yet there’s a difference between singing about it and seeking it. Seeking it can include singing for it, but the journey has so much more.
Putting into words the importance of asking for the Spirit of the Living God can make me very emotional. I know what it was like to live without the Spirit of the Living God inside me. I know what it was like to even seek to reject the Spirit once He came to dwell in me. I continue to grow in appreciating just how wonderful, beautiful, powerful, and bountiful life is with the Spirit within, even in adverse external circumstances.
It was such a moving experience knowing when the Holy Spirit took His dwelling in me. I remember the time very well, and for all that’s happened since then, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is not something that I think is incidental, like a little insight into realising that drinking sparkling water tastes better than tasting still water. Something seismic took place inside. Seismic, that led to appreciating who God is and how His Son has promised the Comforter not to be alongside on the outside, but to operate on the inside.
Routines can help us appreciate the Holy Spirit’s presence. Yet it’s not about the presence alone; it’s about appreciating who the Holy Spirit is and why He’s so important to us in our relationship with God and being equipped and empowered to do the things God calls us to do and, more importantly, to be the children of God we were always created to be. Some of those routines can enrich the life in Christ when we see revealed to us how pivotal the Holy Spirit is throughout all creation, in all Scripture and throughout history and for all eternity.
I grow to realise how totally dependent I am on the Holy Spirit. I acknowledge that it’s very easy to live as though He’s not important, or He’s more of an assistant to chip in as and when I need Him. Yet I am so grateful for God’s patience with me, and for understanding why the Holy Spirit is the guarantor living in me. I love how others show what it is to live by the power of the indwelling Spirit in their character and competence. I love how life in the Spirit, alone and together, shines the truth of who God is and how His Son Jesus Christ is worthy of our lives totally lived for Him. I love how the Holy Spirit illuminates the Scripture as the most important and dynamic document ever given to mankind.
That’s why it’s so crucial to understand how the counsel offered in the Word gives us the knowledge to function in the power offered by the Spirit. That’s why we appreciate what it is to have a healthy fear of the Lord. That’s why we know only too well that without the Spirit of God living within we are nothing and we do nothing. And we know that with the Spirit of God dwelling within …
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
