The pure Holy Spirit lives in sinful man. What awesome love our Father God has for us to send the Holy Spirit to live in the heart of every believer in Christ. Oh that we could all understand the work He desires to do in all of us.
When I read this quote from Charles Spurgeon, I asked God to forgive me for every time I have treated the Holy Spirit in a way that grieved Him. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me aside from Jesus saving my soul.
I have never done really bad things where I broke the law, or what others thought was a terrible sin. I wasn’t the perfect child, but I never lived in open rebellion against my parents.
In school, my classmates called me a “goody two shoes” because I was too scared to do rebellious things. I didn’t want to get caught, and have others look down on me.
If you have lived your life being a “good person,” it can be easy not to see the truth about yourself. You haven’t done bad things, so how could you grieve the Holy Spirit?
I have already admitted to being a people-pleaser in my younger years. I know it grieved the Holy Spirit that I wanted others to like me more than I cared about what God thought about me.
To be a people-pleaser is like falling into a pit that it is extremely hard to climb out of. You might please one person, but you can never please everybody. Then guilt consumes you, and you find yourself in a miserable state.
When I read the quote above, I knew that I was guilty of wanting to please others more than wanting to please God. It was devastating, but something the Holy Spirit needed to show me.
Realizing this has changed my life. I don’t want to forget that the pure Holy Spirit lives in sinful man to lead and guide Him in the ways of God. What an awesome thing this is!
“Oh, my friends, when I think how often you and I have let the devil in, I wonder the Spirit has not withdrawn from us. The perseverance of a saint for a single day is a multitude of miracles of mercy. When you consider that the Spirit is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and yet he dwells in the heart where sin often intrudes, a heart out of which come blasphemies, and murders, and all manner of evil thoughts, what if sometimes he is grieved, and retires and leaves us to ourselves for a season? It is a marvel that he is there at all, for he must be daily grieved with these evil guests, these false traitors, these base intruders who thrust themselves into that little temple which he had honored with his presence, the temple of the heart of man.” -Charles Spurgeon-
I fear I have taken much too lightly what Jesus did for me when He died on the cross and rose again. He went back to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. And He made it possible for the Holy Spirit to come and reside in the heart of every person who believes in Him as their Lord and Savior.
If you have asked Jesus into your heart, you have the awesome gift of the Holy Spirit. He lives inside you and wants to lead you in the right direction.
But He is so much more than that.
He is your comforter in time of trouble, the provider of your every need. And He will lead you in the right direction if you will let Him.
First thing each morning, thank the Holy Spirit for who He is and what He has done in your life. Also thank Him that you don’t have to make decisions on your own any more.
The Holy Spirit is an awesome gift that has been given to every believer in Christ.
Ask Him to reveal areas in your life where you need to change, and be obedient to what He says. Your life will truly take on new meaning.
