Listen to the Holy Spirit
Listen to the Holy Spirit
By Pastor John Dawson
The ancient—we call them primitive—people felt that God was (or gods were) everywhere, intimately involved in everything. A bountiful harvest or birth of children was taken as a blessing from God. But so was a famine or humiliation by a foreign army. When things were hard, the people earnestly sought to regain God’s favor. Modern man does not act as though God were near. Agnostics question if there is any God, and most people seem to function as if the question of God’s involvement in the world doesn’t matter. God does not figure into their thoughts as they make plans for their day. The modern man is more concerned with observable, scientific phenomena. There are many who question if there even is anything besides the physical things around us.
Our cultural pride makes us think that we are wiser than the ancients. But really, this modern action of blinding ourselves to the work of God and the presence of God puts modern man at a disadvantage. Scripture tells us that the heavens declare the glory of God. Our Lord Jesus tells us that not a sparrow falls without God’s knowledge. God is not far off. The Apostle preached: In him we live and move and have our being. There are spiritual realities all around us which cannot be perceived with the human eye or measured with our scientific instruments. We, as Christians, have been given the ability to know that these exist and to begin to understand them. This is possible through communication with the Holy Spirit.
St. Paul wrote this to the Corinthians: For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God (1 Cor. 2:11-12). The things of God are hard for us to understand or even know because God is the Creator and we are merely creatures. God’s thoughts and ways are even harder for us to grasp because we are sinful creatures. God is at work around us. God is present and close, even when we are not aware of him. As we trust in Christ, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit can communicate to us the mind of God. Through the Holy Spirit we can be aware of the presence of God, right where we are.
So the Holy Spirit is near and the Holy Spirit communicates. Are you listening? It is so easy to go through the day taking up one task after another without being aware of the presence of God’s Spirit. Have you found that to be true?
I want to be more in tune with the Spirit and aware of his presence. I hope you do, too. It is your birthright as a child of God in Christ. Here is my suggestion as we grow in this area. It begins with reading the bible. We often read with the idea of learning the material. We read and try to remember. If there is something that we are supposed to do, we try to remember to do it. This is all good. But I’m suggesting a different way. Rather than read the text, listen to it. Don’t just have the words go into your mind, but let them sit there. Rather than organize your thoughts about the text, let the text speak to you. For example, no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Sit with the text until the Spirit of God communicates to you. You need the work of the Holy Spirit to move your mind and heart so you will understand. Give God the time to do that.
And when you finish a time of listening to the Word of God, take a word with you. What thought can you take with you as you go through the day? Bring it to your mind in the new situations you find yourself in. Take it through the various doorways you cross. Look at others with that word in your mind and let the Holy Spirit apply it to you.
God speaks through creation if we are not too dull to hear. God speaks through his word if we let the Spirit open our hearts to it. May you be aware of God’s presence throughout your day, to bless you and bless others through you.
Pastor John