Encouragement

---

Recently I have been considering the reasons we see so little of Holy Spirit's power in our lives. I believe that one of the reasons is our unwillingness to set aside our distractions, our desires, and our priorities to embrace the cross of Christ and God’s priorities. Are we willing to accept God’s assignments, or are we caught up in doing what we want to do for Him? Do we want the power, if nothing else the power over sin, but find that the cost is too great?

Perhaps another reason Holy Spirit’s power is not manifest in our lives is that we are not even aware that such power is to be expected. We see the lives of those in the Bible, especially the Apostles, and we believe that the power and purity of their lives was the exception, God's purpose and will in that day was somehow different that His will today. We think that God wants eloquent preachers, large venues, mission boards, media outlets, and internet sites to accomplish His purposes in this day. We assume that these are "the greater works" that Christ said we would do. We have come to expect less because we see less. Perhaps we see less BECAUSE we expect less. Shouldn't we be basing our expectations on the Word of God rather than what we are seeing "in the world."

My goal first and foremost is to KNOW God, to draw as close to Him as I can get, to wrap myself up in Him and to be filled with Him like a sponge (the ONE THING of Psalm 27:4, Luke 10:41-42, and Philippians 3:13-14). But my second goal is to know and experience all that God has for me. I don't want to be limited by what the world, the denomination, the well-meaning, or anyone else says. I want to know what God says He has made available in His Word and go for that with all my heart. My desire is to know and understand all that God has purposed for me and provided for me and to go for it full steam and straight ahead.

Believe me, I am not there . . . YET! I am still asking, seeking, knocking, as well as longing, desiring, and waiting on Him. I have tasted of it. I have a measure of it. I want MORE! I want MORE of GOD, MORE of CHRIST JESUS, MORE of HOLY SPIRIT, and MORE of the WORD of GOD in my life.
What about you? Are you basing your expectations of what God desires to do in your life on what you have already experienced, on what you see in the lives of others, or on what someone has told you is to be expected? I challenge you to go to the Scriptures, look at what God has done in the lives of His people throughout all the ages. Ask and seek for more of Him, for more of His Spirit, and for more of whatever He wants to make available to you. You may be surprised at what God has for you.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE