“Jesus stood and cried out, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.”‘ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39)
We know God wants Christians to grow. Spiritual growth takes place deep down inside us. It comes from the Holy Spirit, whose job is to make the “waters flow.” However, most Christians have a home improvement mentality, where we depend on ourselves to produce the development we know we ought to have. But if we could do it ourselves, we wouldn’t need the Holy Spirit. The assumption of the work of the Holy Spirit is that we can’t do it ourselves. Just as air enables a horn to make a sound, or wind enables a sailboat to move, the Holy Spirit enables spiritual life to work.
Many Christians do not realize what they have within them. If we were riding on a bus and it broke down, we would all look pretty foolish if we got out to push the bus while Clark Kent (the disguised superman) was sitting inside it. Christians tend to want to row their own boat themselves to spiritual progress. We row and row until we are so tired that we want to give up. But God wants us to use the speedboat with the motor, and He provides it for us.
Prayer
Lord, give me Your wisdom and peace to know I can’t do this myself. Let Your Spirit lead me to follow the path You have set, and let my life glorify Your Name. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Stay encouraged!
Pastor Mike
