Dear Friends,
People often ask me about how they experience the Holy Spirit. There is a large conversation about the Holy Spirit set out on the Alpha course and I think often people feel they have missed something which makes them feel inadequate and that others who have a more fulsome experience to them can be viewed as superior, having reached another level to them. Now, I do not want to de-bunk all experiences of the Holy Spirit, but there can be a pressure to speak in tongues or act in some other way to signify that He is working.
One dear Christian I know was kept in a room, the door locked, until she spoke in tongues! I state clearly now that the Holy Spirit is not a “vibe.” He is not a moment in a service. Not a swell in the music. Not a tear during sung worship. He is the Spirit of the Living God. He teaches. He corrects. He comforts. He commissions. He is not emotional excess. He is eternal authority. Being led by the Holy Spirit is not instability. It is alignment. It’s obeying when logic argues. It’s moving when others hesitate. It’s stopping when everyone else rushes. It’s knowing when to speak. Knowing when to stay silent. Knowing when to walk away. Knowing when to stand firm.
Acts 1 v 8 says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…”
He positions you in rooms you didn’t plan. He gives you words you didn’t rehearse. He gives you courage you didn’t manufacture. He makes you steady when others panic. Bold when others fold. Being Holy Spirit-led doesn’t mean you’re extreme. It means you’re anchored. It’s the only way to carry fire without burning out. The only way to move in authority without ego. The only way to walk in influence without losing your soul. Let them misunderstand your conviction. Let them call you intense. You are not here to blend in. You are here to be led. You don’t carry emotion. You carry the Holy Spirit. And He is not hype. He is holy.
May God bring you joy as you grow to recognise that you are fully loved and completely accepted as you are NOW!
David
With grateful thanks to Natalie Breckenridge
