When we encounter God’s presence, we should experience bits of both comfort and conviction. The Holy Spirit is both cheerleader and challenger, a teacher and a trainer.
In nearly equal parts, the Holy Spirit is both a doting parent and drill sergeant – our Helper and also the One who haunts and hassles us when we need correction!
We need both. The problem is that most of us gravitate toward one aspect of the Spirit’s presence while we reject the others!
We lean in willingly to the comfort of the Holy Spirit, but then we resist anything that challenges or convicts us. We often crave coddling while we resist coaching.
Or…we succumb to the opposite expression. With a conflicting sense of both self-righteousness and self-deprecation – we express conviction so fervently that we end up lacking compassion for ourselves or for others.
The Holy Spirit is both our Comforter and our Counselor, who chastens, challenges, consoles, and has compassion on us. And we need all of this! Too much compassion and we invariably cheapen grace; too much conviction and we are consumed by guilt that renders grace ineffective. We need both the compassion and conviction that accompanies the Spirit’s presence and nothing less.
All else is a distortion of the character of God – a liability, that will eventually rob us of the life-giving power, and the liberating presence of God the Holy Spirit – rendering us either too weak or too rigid to embrace and enjoy the promise of the Father!
We must learn to accept the fullness of God’s presence, the Holy Spirit within us – with all of the conviction and compassion, the comfort and the correction that follows. This is the holy power that challenges and changes, trains and transforms us!
Come, Holy Spirit, in the fullness of Your power, fill us, feed us, and fix us, in Jesus’ name!
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 14:26
Good Morning, I love you all!
ihs,
just adam
pastorpoet 