Louise Gevers

“‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’ - but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:9, 10

Most of us enjoy watching mystery stories and scratch our heads in puzzlement as we try to work out “who did it” through the clues revealed as the story unravels. In each story there’s always a person who has brilliant powers of deduction, who understands intimately what has happened, and in the end solves the mystery and reveals all, leaving us amazed at his wisdom. We delight in this because life in all its complexity often appears to be a mystery that we try to fathom on our own and we know that we need help.

The Holy Spirit can help us because He is the power of God who understands life and us intimately. He inspires us to open our hearts to God. He “searches all things” and is that dazzling Person who will shine truth into our lives, reveal hidden heart motives and disclose to us the things that prevent us from discerning God’s voice from the world’s. We are often ignorant of the wickedness of our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9) but the Spirit is kind and pleads with us to press forward in faith - especially in difficult moments when we hardly know and understand ourselves. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

When we connect to the Spirit He shows us how, when we humble ourselves, God can use our weakness. He helps us to work through our hurts; He patiently works through past experiences that have hardened us and caused us to erect barriers to protect ourselves; He helps us to forgive. When we find it difficult to live sacrificially with others, He encourages us to surrender our will.  The Spirit convicts us and encourages us through the Word. He inspires us with the picture of the true fellowship He shares with the Father and the Son as they work together with one heart and one mind.

Over time, constant connection to the Spirit will result in His gifts of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22- 23)becoming evident in us. This will enrich us as we negotiate the mystery of life and help us “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that (we) may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:18-19)

Prayer: Dear Holy Spirit, I welcome your quiet, strong Presence in my life. I rely on your truth and integrity to guide me, to expose those things that I hide which prevent me from growing spiritually and make me miss out on those things that God has prepared for me to live an abundant life here on earth, and in the life to come. Amen.