Rushing Ahead

David v Goliath went very well. For some reason, the children found me standing on a chair in cardboard armour hilarious. They also liked my vocal impersonation of the Tasmanian Devil. And David killing me with a thrown inflatable sheep to the head brought the house down. I must say my dramatic death tumble complete with commando roll was the coup de grace. I'm expecting theatre talent scouts to be visiting us anytime soon. Oh, and the small point of the morning was 'God Looks After Me.' He certainly did considering my top class stuntman impressions.

I'm in a place at the moment with much uncertainty. Various things in my life seem to be pressing in, and demanding my affections and attentions. Some of these are good things, some of them are not so good. As with everything, they all have the potential to be distractions or snares. Especially when it comes to faith. If faith is the hope of things unseen, and being a Christian is dependent on pressing onwards in faith, then anything that sucks or robs us of faith has to be dealt with.

So with this in mind, I've been seeking God a lot for direction, wisdom and insight. I need direction to know which ways to go, wisdom to know how to do it, and insight to see things as they really are. I'd felt God draw my attention to 1 Corinthians 2:11-12 when contemplating all the decisions I've got to make. He was saying to me 'if you want to know what I think about things, keep close to my Spirit.' Now, in one sense, I am always close to the Spirit in that He dwells within me. But sometimes I know that I'm far from the Spirit of God - when I quench or grieve Him. The best way I can articulate it is this: there is a difference between union and communion with the Spirit of God.

If I want to know what God thinks or feels about something, I need to be in communion with Him through His Spirit. As those verses in 1 Corinthians show us, He reveals to us the heart of God - in matters concerning us, but also feelings FOR us. As Ephesians 5:18 tells us, we need to be filled with the Spirit. And the Greek in that verse is an ongoing, continuous tense - basically, 'keep on being filled!'

I love 1 Samuel 16:13 which tells us that the Spirit of the Lord 'rushed' upon David. I get a sense of the Holy Spirit holding back, waiting, chomping at the bit, eagerly looking forward to embracing David with all his fullness. And as Christians, that is the heart of God for us. The Spirit of God wants to 'rush upon us', and clothe us with power from on high. But more than that, to reveal the heart and mind of God to us and for us.

When was the last time you asked Him to rush upon you? Remember, there is a difference between union and communion.

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Listening to: Menswear - Stardust
via FoxyTunes