Tapping In
I want to start by saying God loves each and every one of us. Regardless of what you believe or where you are in your faith journey, God sees you and He loves you.
Currently in my faith journey, I desire to relinquish trying to control things in my life I cannot control; to let those things not rattle me or steal my peace. I also desire to focus my time and energy on desires that reside in my heart.
How do I know if my heart’s desires align with God’s desire for my life? Well, I can ask Him! It is as simple as: “Lord, align my heart’s desires with Your desires for my life.” But it can feel like a scary prayer because what if God’s desire or plan differs from the desires I cling to?
God created each one of us for a reason. We still walk the earth for that reason. Will we continue to let our cruise ship detour us to unwanted places before we allow it to take us to our true destination? How do we confidently move forward without getting in our own way?
God’s gift to us
I believe the answers start with making time for God, finding stillness. We live in a busy, noisy world that encourages imbalance: to be extremely busy or extremely leisurely. It takes intentionality to quiet that noise.
When we commune with God and surrender our need to control, we discover what God has prepared for us. For those who at any point in their lives believe Jesus died so we could one day live with Him in eternity, God gives the gift of a Counselor. This Counselor dwells in us always; He cannot be taken away.
I wonder how many of us that have received this gift actually tap into it? How many of us ignore, squelch or bury it?
Understanding the gift
God gives us this gift of a Counselor out of love. Counselor is another name for the Holy Spirit, the third part of a triune God.
To be honest, as a girl growing up in a Catholic family, the trinity confused me. How can three people be one? Isn’t the Holy Spirt an “it”?
American theologian B.B. Warfield states: “there is one only and true God, but in the unity of the Godhead there are three coeternal and coequal Persons, the same in substance (essence) but distinct in subsistence (necessary existence).”
I am not a theologian but Charles Ryrie is one. In his book, Basic Theology, he uses two analogies that helped me better understand this concept of the trinity.
Trinity Analogies
The first analogy relates to water. Water can be “three-in-one”. It retains its chemical activity whether in ice, gas, or liquid form. Each form is distinct from each other yet have a point where they can all coexist in equilibrium.
The second analogy relates to the sun. No one has actually seen the sun, just like no one has seen God. But we learn a lot about the sun when we study sunlight. Similarly, Jesus is God in human form. As we learn about Jesus, we learn about God. Jesus radiates God’s glory like the sun radiates sunshine. The sun’s power contributes to a plant’s growth. The Holy Spirit is like the sun to our soul. He equips, enables and empowers us to grow into the being God envisioned.
Benefits of tapping in
God gave us free will to chose what we want to believe, how we want to live our lives. The Spirit reveals what we can never discover on our own and guides us into all truth. When we tap into the Spirit, we surrender our will and ask the Holy Spirit for His help: whether we seek wisdom, strength, guidance, etc.
Scripture states many ways the Holy Spirit, our Counselor, helps us. Listed below are some of those ways.
Helps us in our weakness: The Spirit’s power gives us the ability to live a life of peace. (Romans 8:6)
Intercedes for us: When we pray for ourselves and others, the Spirit intercedes “with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:26-27)
Transforms us: The Spirit reveals God’s nature to us, His thoughts, giving us the mind of Christ and ability to act like Him. The Spirit transforms us into Christ’s likeness. (1Corinthians 2:16, 2Corinthians 3:18)
Gives us hope in our suffering: God gives us the gift of hope through His Spirit, who gives us life. This hope of eternal life sustains us during our suffering. (1Corinthians 3:6, Romans 15:13, 8:26)
In spite of knowing and experiencing these benefits, I still fail at consistently tapping into the Spirit in my daily life. Jesus told His disciples “The spirit is willing but the body is weak” (Matthew 26:41). I so relate!
By writing this post, I pray we each take advantage of this gift and its power and Tap In.
Prayer
Holy God, You demonstrated your love for us through Christ’s death, pouring out your love into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit. When we ask for your wisdom, you generously give. Align our heart’s desires with Your will. Strengthen our faith so we consistently tap into the Holy Spirit as we go about our days, reflecting light and love into our world. (Romans 5:5, James 1:5)
