Nothing Fatal Or Final
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ––Romans 8:37, NKJV
The job of the Holy Spirit is to remind us that when there is a loving God on our side, nothing is fatal or final. Emotions are powerful and God knows that; left unchecked they can take over our whole existence. He also knows that Satan loves to exploit out-of-control emotions with lies that lead us to self-destructive and harmful things. But the Holy Spirit is not just there for the lows and the bad times. He is also there to temper our successes so that we don’t hit the slippery slope of pride and self-sufficiency.
The Holy Spirit will always reveal the mind of Christ in decision making and move us in the simple direction of doing that one thing that shows love for God and love for people. The Holy Spirit’s fingerprints are synonymous with spiritual simplicity, which leads to charity and integrity. Always. What is our confirmation of walking with the Holy Spirit? Galatians outlines the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23).
The Holy Spirit changes the way we think about ourselves to create a secure and accepted man who seeks to please God, versus an insecure man who battles for the acceptance of others, or who seeks the approval of others and loses his identity in the process. The Holy Spirit tells us over and over, “Your Dad loves you.”
The more we allow Him to be the primary shaper of our thoughts, the more we will act upon those thoughts. Does it happen overnight? We all wish. He redeems us and then places us on a long, narrow path into and through His Kingdom. Dips, valleys, and detours are inevitable as we are real flesh and blood people living in a fallen world. But the fruit of His Spirit grows in us—the more we trust Him, the more fruitful we become. It’s that simple.
Thank you, Father, that Your Holy Spirit is not a complicated equation or secret—You do not hide Your love from us.