Holy Spirit in Us
I was talking with my husband the other day about our newest grandchild who has yet to be born. He is safely enveloped in our daughter’s womb, being fed and cared for through the miracle of God’s design for women as life givers.
As we talked and prayed for them I was struck with how amazing it is for our daughter to actually feel the new life that is growing within her. As he moves and stretches she is pushed from the inside and is made even more aware of the life within her.
I commented on how it would be so easy for us to follow the Spirit’s leading if we physically felt His promptings within us. Wouldn’t it be great if when He wanted us to turn left at the next street He would just poke us on our left side? And what if He wanted us to rest; couldn’t He just push low on our bodies so we felt the need to sit?
Although we cannot feel His presence physically, we do have the assurance of God’s Word that once we accept His gift of salvation, the Holy Spirit is deposited within us as a guarantee of what is to come.
Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
Other Bible versions call it a down payment, much like when you are buying a house. A down payment is given to hold the house for you until all the mortgage paperwork is completed and the title is transferred. You show your intention to own the house, and have written up a contract to communicate that, but you can’t live in the home yet. In much the same way, we are in ownership of our salvation, but full possession has not yet happened. This is our hope, that one day we will be completely delivered into the heavenly kingdom where there are no more tears, or pain, or struggle or fears.
The Holy Spirit dwells in us. We may not always be aware of His movement, but we can believe that He is actively instructing and guiding and teaching and leading us into more truth and greater holiness.
Jesus says in John 16:13-15 NIV , “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
This Holy Spirit is a gift from Jesus who knew we needed Him to navigate this world. He is our comforter and our advocate Who makes intercession for us.
Romans 8:26 -27 “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 2 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
Romans 8 talks about setting our minds on the Spirit and walking by the Spirit so we can put to death the deeds of our fleshly desires. This isn’t something that happens naturally. It can only happen by the empowering of that same Spirit within us. I believe we can trust, just as a pregnant mama can, that our inner being (the new creation) will grow stronger every day as we feed ourselves with nutritious, spiritual food from God’s word. By the Holy Spirit we are led deeper into truth and can be more confident and secure in our inheritance as children of God.