Have you ever thought of the Holy Spirit as a gift before? I hadn’t. Not until I read a passage in Luke that changed my thinking.
God is our loving Father
Jesus tells the disciples a story of a father in Luke chapter 11. His child is in need of food and Jesus asks His listeners if they believed the father would give his son a stone or a scorpion instead.
Of course he wouldn’t!
A loving father will only give his children helpful things. Tucked into Jesus’ conclusion is the following treasure:
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! – Luke 11:13
Did you catch it? Jesus doesn’t promise physical blessings. He promises the gift of the Holy Spirit sent directly from our Heavenly Father for our good.
The gift of the Holy Spirit
Most of the time I think of the Holy Spirit as a person of the Trinity—a theological truth. But He is so much more than a philosophical or theological construct! He is a precious gift, dwelling inside our very beings to comfort, correct and guide us. He gives us wisdom and reveals to us the truths of God’s Word and His will.
The thing I love most is the Holy Spirit operates just as the Father does. My earthly father wouldn’t have given me the keys to a car at eight (or sixteen for that matter). Neither does the Holy Spirit give us things we aren’t ready for, even when we think we are mature enough to handle them.
Your wish list
What do you really, really want from God? A mate? A child? A ministry? Is it possible God knows you aren’t ready to handle your desire just yet? Instead of giving you a stone or a scorpion, He has given you the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you into maturity so you are ready to receive your heart’s desire when the time is right.
But, as it is written, “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. – 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
God has so many wonderful things prepared for us as His children. He has promised to lead us into them if we allow the Holy Spirit to have rule over our hearts. So I ask you…does He? Or are you too busy chasing your dreams and desires to be still and listen to what He might be saying to you?
Don’t do as I have done
Listen, I’m not judging. I’m speaking from experience. I’m a pro at doing first and praying later. But I also know, when I finally take my hands off the wheel and determine I will sit still until God reveals what direction I should take, THEN He starts moving and directing. Before that, He can’t show me because I won’t sit still long enough for Him to share His plan!
Is that you today? Do you feel like you have been running in circles? Do you believe God has been ignoring your pleas for direction? Maybe it is time to relax for a while. Spend some time thanking God for what He has done in your past and surrender your desire to micro-manage your future. He’s a good Father. Let Him do His thing.
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