This is a guest post by Sophia Reed. “I’m a mother of one and have a Master’s Degree in Human Services specializing in marriage, couples, and family therapy/counseling. I’m a Christian and enjoy meshing my Christian values with my education and experiences.” You can contact Sophia on her blog, Twitter, and on Facebook. If you are interested in writing a post for us, visit our Guest Post page. You can also view other guest posts by clicking here.
For nearly all of my life I could technically say I was a Christian. I was brought up to know and believe that Jesus Christ was my Lord and Savior, and He was someone who died for my sins. Throughout my teenage years and young adult life I read the Bible and sought God. During those times, I would have told you that I was a Christian, but I did not know God.
To me, God was some force somewhere out in the universe that I would pray to out of ritual and obligation. Pray to keep my family safe, pray for the things I wanted, and pray the Lord’s Prayer. After all, I felt these things were required of me, these were the things taught in the Bible right? I would openly sin, and felt as long as I asked for forgiveness from God through Jesus Christ, then it was okay and I would go to heaven. Not understanding the concept of true repentance.
I cannot recall the exact date and time, but it was in my early twenties that I somehow noticed there was a voice talking to me in my head. When I was down, I would hear a voice giving me peace. When I was confused, there was a voice giving me clarity. When I was lost, there was a voice giving me direction.
For quite a while I did not understand this “voice” but I long suspected that it was the “voice” of God. Throughout more learning of the Bible, I came to understand that this voice was the Holy Spirit. I had always heard in Church and other religious gatherings people say in the “Name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
I knew who the father was (God) and I knew who the son was (Jesus), but who and what is the Holy Sprit and what was its purpose? When speaking to others, I was told that it was speaking in tongues. It wasn’t until I read 1 Corinthians 12:30 “All do not speak with tongues,” that this verse explained that the Holy Spirit manifests Himself in many ways to different people, not just tongues.
Through prayer to God, finally He gave me the answer through the Holy Spirit, and it was simple. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. The way in which Jesus prayed to God and received an answer about all the things He asked, is the same way God can communicate to us through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit can tell you what God’s will is for you life, comfort you, tell you what you are to do, what direction you should go, what to pray, what God wants, and so much more. It really is an amazing thought. Now that I can understand the Holy Sprit I am able to openly have a conversation with God throughout the day, all the time. I no longer feel that I am praying a God in the sky as a habit to prove that I am a Christian.
So many people, like I was in the past, miss the voice of the Holy Spirit because they feel the idea of having a conversation with God is not possible. They feel God is some force that we worship and pay homage to, and He does not have the time or care to answer us “humans” back.
I have come to learn that it is the opposite. This is what God wants; to speak to His children. When have you ever known any good parent that does not want to openly communicate and have a relationship with their children? It is my fear, that if people do not understand the Holy Spirit or its purpose, that they will miss out on a wonderful communion with a perfect God.
When you grasp this concept, you realize that you are never alone, never abandoned, and you always have someone to talk to. Not only is God there, by way of the Holy Spirit for the tough times; but He is there when we want to talk, when we have lost a loved one, an ending of a relationship, when we do not know what to do next, or when we feel that no one understands us or what we are going through. Not only is the Holy Sprit there to listen, but He talks back. And His answers are always right.
When you think about God in this way, having the Holy Sprit that dwells in you, is like always having a private phone line to God. You know He will always answer and you can call Him anytime of the day. It makes your problems seem a little bit smaller and your life a bit more significant, to know that God cares for you that much.
Amen to that Sister, for the same Spirit of Father that led Christ comes to live in us and tell us truth over error and when we finally listen we make much better choices, thank for this. remembering the same exact Spirit that led Christ leads us in Spirit and truth, dead to that old Spirit of error alive to The Spirit of God thanks to Son Jesus, when we believe we receive and see
Thanks so much for sharing Howard!
Very welcome, for others to see deeper into this amazing salvation for us