Read: John 16:5-16
A new spirit I will put within you. (Ezek. 36:26)
If you were ever a candidate for cataract surgery, your doctor probably promised that your dull and drab world would be bright and colorful after your surgery. Of course, you couldn’t know that your world was dull and drab until you had the surgery. You had to take that step in order to find a new world. The same is true in our spiritual lives. The Holy Spirit is the one who helps us grow spiritually, but we have to open our hearts to him to obtain his help.
In her book The Helper, Catherine Marshall wrote that most people think of the Holy Spirit as an ethereal “influence,” an “it.” But, she says, “The Helper is no influence; He is rather a person”. As he goes about his work, the Holy Spirit is a teacher, comforter, advocate, and friend. As best friends do, the Holy Spirit confronts, points out new directions, encourages, and is a loyal companion through all the events in our lives. Unlike our best friend, however, the Spirit is able to empower us and transform us in the process. Everything he does makes us more like Jesus.
Spiritual formation is “the process of being conformed into the image of Christ, through a relationship of intimacy with God, by the power of the Spirit . . .” The last phrase is important. Transformation does not come by osmosis. If we want fresh life with God, we need to trust the Spirit. —Karen Bables
As you pray, ask the Holy Spirit to rain down on you.
About the Author
Karen Bables is the retired Spiritual Director of Christ Memorial Church in Holland, Michigan.
