Monday, August 9, 2021
It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. John 6:63
The Flesh Is No Help At All
When we become Christians we are immediately given the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Unfortunately many Christians live a large part of their lives without the power of the Holy Spirit, not because it is not there, but because they do not engage the Holy Spirit. We can live our whole life as a “Christian,” meaning we have accepted Christ as our Savior and asked Him to be the Lord of our lives. For many, that is it. They have done the deed and now they go on with life. Oh, they will be in church every week, teach a class, do mission work, and anything else that needs to be done. But if we do not understand, and engage the Holy Spirit, we miss out on the true meaning of spirituality. The power we have from the Holy Spirit doesn’t come from religion - or doing “church things.” It only comes from a relationship with God.
“The filling of the Holy Spirit is the work of the Spirit upon a human being to endow that person with the power necessary to carry out their mission and vocation as a Christian.” - RC Sproul
This power is a gift given to us the very moment we receive Christ. All of us - no one is excluded. We all have the same power and He is there for us whether we engage Him or not. When we do engage Him and start leaning on and trusting in that power it is a game changer. Just saying you believe in God is not the same as engaging the Holy Spirit.
The verse above says It is the Spirit who gives life, the flesh is no help at all. The flesh is no help at all, yet we try to fix our lives in our own power, or we rely on something or someone of this world to try to help us. We are weak humans and we cannot depend on our flesh. We search from one thing to the other looking for “life,” only to be even more empty than when we started. The Holy Spirit is right there. We can’t see Him so we skip over Him and look everywhere else under the sun to find what only He gives. And absolutely nothing on this earth has the power to fix or transform our lives - in any area - than the Holy Spirit. That is why He is there. He is waiting to help us and pour His power into our lives. Once you realize that, it feels so amazing to think about His role in our lives and He is right there, already waiting. It is instant power - ready to go - when we realize and decide to engage.
True spirituality comes when we learn who the Holy Spirit is and lean into His power and presence in our lives. He is there for us in every trial and in every joy. He gives us the power we need to make it through the valleys and do the work that God has called us to do. He gives us the words we need when we find ourselves in a God ordained moment. My personal favorite - He knows what we need when we don’t have the words. When our hearts are so heavy that we don’t know what to even ask for, He intercedes for us before our Heavenly Father. He is our advocate and friend. He lives with us, indwells us, reveals God’s word, unveils and convicts us of our sin, empowers us, and comforts us. He will never leave and never change. He never gets tired of our issues, requests, or needs. He will never tire of loving and empowering us in the hard times and the easy. We do not have a closer friend than the Holy Spirit. He is a true gift to believers from our Heavenly Father.
