On Faith and the Spirit of God

Where is your faith, Sheree?

The past week has been a difficult one for me, stressful. A couple of anxiety-ridden situations have arisen and I admit I have given in to the temptation to worry. At the same time, however, the situations have caused me to consider more deeply the things of God I am learning in Bible study, podcasts, meditating on these days.

Along with a couple of hundred other women, I am studying Acts this year in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship), and although the book is normally referred to as the Acts of the Apostles, it could just as well be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. Such a strong focus on the Holy Spirit, power, the Name of Jesus. I do not think it is possible to study, pay attention to the Holy Spirit and not have our own spirit impacted. An awesome thing--to meditate on the fact (yes, fact) that the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ dwells within me (a believer) and is in fellowship with my spirit--seems too amazing to be true.

I suppose one of the reasons that truth is hard to internalize for me (and perhaps for others) is that despite knowing God's truth, I continue to sin and struggle in this world. And I must grieve the Holy Spirit by the way I so often respond to difficulties. I claim to be a follower of Christ, one who believes and trusts in the God of the Bible. Yet, while I confess my belief and trust in God, my response to trouble (worry) and my actions are often inconsistent with what I believe and with how I want to respond. Especially worry, I think, must grieve the Spirit; worrying is antithetical to trusting in God, the outworking of my faith.

Nice to know I'm not alone. The Apostle Paul writes about this conflict in his letter to the Romans, Chapter 7:

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

I think one of my problems (and perhaps it's a universal problem) is that I forget who I am, forget my place in the universe. I keep thinking--and living as though--I am in control of my own life and responsible for changing me. The more I am in the Word, the more I learn about the character and redemptive plan of God, His grace, mercy, righteousness, sovereignty,  the more I realize that I can do nothing on my own. And the very fact that I am troubled about and aware of the conflict between my spirit and my flesh, as Paul was, testifies to me of the truth of God's Word. 

My God is a personal God, who desires an intimate relationship with me. Francis Schaeffer said because God is infinite, He can [and does] deal with each of us personally, in a personal relationship (True Spirituality--great book!). But within that personal relationship, we must remember we are not equal with God or above God; He is the Creator; we are his creation (small "c"). Indwelling us with His Holy Spirit is (I believe) a gift from God, a gift of His power and presence that provides the means for us to have the intimate  relationship He desires to have with us.

Until Jesus lived, died, rose, and ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit was given as an external gift, a help given by God when He chose to give it; many times in the Old Testament we read how the Holy Spirit "came upon" someone to empower them. After Jesus ascended, God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to live within us, to be with us always. The Holy Spirit is a person, real, tangible, a "very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). His purpose is to guide us into all truth and to give us power to testify of and live for Christ in a fallen, sinful world. God knows we have nothing inside us to be able to do it ourselves. In fact, we remain spiritually dead until God quickens our spirits by His Spirit, giving us the power of faith to believe, to repent, to receive His gift of salvation, to trust and abide in Him. In 2Timothy 2:25, we are reminded that even repentance is not of ourselves:

Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, . . .

The very faith by which we believe comes from God. From Romans 12:3: ". . . each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned."

And grace is a gift, too; from Romans 12:6: "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. . . ."

I downloaded a new podcast by James McDonald not long ago and have been listening to a series of ten messages on Change. His message perfectly fits with my study of Acts and my life circumstances right now. (By now, I should have ceased being amazed at God's perfect timing...)

It's one thing to know about the power available to me and it's another to put it into practice on a daily basis. The podcast series has been a great help, and I know God is changing me, perhaps not as quickly as I would like, but I'm on the right path!

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp to my feet
   and a light to my path. (Psalm 119)

__________________________________________________
I heard a message on the radio one day recently. It was the Unlocking the Bible program with Pastor Colin Smith (good preacher). I wanted to mediate on his message, but first I had to remember it (not easy these days), so I quickly recorded his three main ideas.

When facing difficulties:

1. Factor in what you know about God's power--over disease, nature, death, everything. (Remember what God has done.)
   
2. Submit to the sovereignty/authority of God, knowing that He does what He pleases, not what I may please (brings peace).
   
3. Trust in the goodness of God, knowing that He loves me and everything He allows in my life is for my ultimate good. ( . . . [A]ll things work together for good...Romans 8:28)
   
4. (I will add a fourth:)  Know and believe that the Holy Spirit of God dwells within me and will guide me and grant me the power and wisdom I need in every circumstance to act in a way that will glorify God.

Jesus walking on the water--Jesus was with His disciples in a boat; He was sleeping and there was a  storm, and the disciples were terrified. It was because of their relationship with Jesus that they were in the situation they found themselves in--a fierce storm, facing death. They had seen Jesus do many miracles already, but when faced with the storm and possible death, they panicked, and Jesus, after calming the sea, said to them, "Where is your faith?"

I just bought a little plaque that has a seashell on it and a few cattails or reeds blowing in the wind. Two words are conveyed on the plaque--"just bend." That phrase has come to mind a few times this past week, and I have thought about how reeds do not work to bend--as the winds and storms come, they "just bend." As I experience difficulties, may I learn to "just bend" and let Jesus calm the sea in and around me.