Friday, December 14, 2018

Holy Spirit Apps...


Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.John 14:27

I had a pretty cool experience with the Lord awhile back and I have shared this story with many people since then so I decided to write it out in my blog.

In January of 2010 we were hanging out at our daughter’s house for “family night”. Every Sunday we would get together and hang out with the grand kids, have dinner together and then play cards or something when the kids went to bed. This particular night I accidentally left my cell phone at their house and, when I got home and realized I didn’t have it, I felt a surge of, well, panic! It was late and they lived about 35 minutes away and I wasn’t going to go back to get it.

The panic came when I realized just how much I relied on that phone!! I use it as my watch, an alarm clock, and it is my life line to the ladies in the ministry, my elderly ladies and my family… pretty much everything I do is in that phone! When those feelings of panic started to come, I took a deep breath and reminded myself that even THIS situation and circumstance was not an accident!! God knew very well what was going on and had a plan to use it for my good and His Glory. “My circumstances do not make me who I am but they reveal who I am” quote by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I believe that God uses our circumstances to show us our own hearts and what is in there… like this panic.

Our attitude must be one of complete reliance on God. Once we get to that point, there is nothing easier than living the life of a saint. We encounter difficulties when we try to usurp the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own purposes.” Oswald Chambers - December 14th

Then, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, “Do you rely on ME as much as you rely on that phone?”…. Oh my!  That was a really good question!!  I had to think about that for a while… which was pretty sad in and of itself.  Do I rely on the Lord and the Holy Spirit as much as I rely on my phone?  Well, you know, the more I thought about not having the Holy Spirit, the more I realized that I probably relied on Him more than I am consciously aware ofI think if for some reason He was suddenly gone out of my life (like my phone), I would REALLY notice it and realize how much I relied on Him and needed Him.  But then, this situation also made me realize all the ways I DON’T rely on Him!!  

The following morning, when I was journaling all of this, I was thinking about my cell phone and how, even though I rely on it quite a bit, there are still many features and apps I had never used before. It was my first “smart phone” and I hadn’t really done very much investigating into all that it was capable of. Then I heard the Holy Spirit say, "There are many features and apps in ME that you have never used before either!" I was like, Wow... That was pretty profound!! You are right Lord!" Nothing like getting your eyes opened by the Lord!! Not that these apps are not available to me, but that I just haven’t taken the time to investigate and learn to use them yet. Oh Holy Spirit, I pray that You will help me to learn more about You and all the “features” you offer me that I have not learned to use yet!! I feel like I have available to me amazing things but I need to press into You more and allow you to flow through me, and teach me, so that You are Glorified! Please take my hand and show me more of You!  

When this first happened in 2010 I was picturing the Holy Spirit “apps” as being huge and powerful miracles but after chewing on this and asking God about it for the last 8 years I recently felt like He was talking about the “Fruits” of the Spirit… Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self-control… Not necessarily "big", powerful things. Like what it says in the scripture in 1 kings “The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper...1 Kings 19:11-12.  He was IN the gentle whisper and NOT in the powerful wind, earthquake or fire.

Isn’t that just like us? Looking for the BIG things when God is all about the things that are quiet, still, small and gentle. As much as the Lord has revealed to me over the years, I absolutely know there are things about Him that I still have NO CLUE about, big and small, and I would really like to go deeper with Him in all areas. I know that he continues to bring this up to me for a reason and I fully expect Him to blow me away, like always, when He does reveal even more deep and wonderful things to me. So I will continue to seek Him and wait for HIS perfect timing! He knows my heart and my desire for Him, so I will trust Him with the rest.

How about you? Are there Holy Spirit “apps” that you have not tapped into??

The spirit of simplicity, clarity, and unity is born through the Holy Spirit, not through your decisions. God counters our self-willed decisions with an appeal for simplicity and unity.” Oswald Chambers – December 14th


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