Yield to the Holy Spirit

John 14:26 (NIV)

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

On a gentle summer afternoon, I lounged on my deck with a book in my lap. I intended to read it but today my attention was captured by a flitting dragonfly. It swooped and swirled in the air, performing a magical dance for me. Then it landed on a sprig of lemon verbena, its weight causing the thin branch to sway.

The slight movement of the plant caused the dragonfly to bob up and down. Where the stem went the dragonfly followed because, for the moment, they were united, isn’t that a beautiful picture of our relationship with the Holy Spirit?

The enigmatic characteristics of the Holy Spirit both captivates and mystifies me. I earnestly seek direction but sometimes that direction eludes me. How do we live like that dragonfly and move in unity with the Spirit? Read with me as we examine the answers found in the book of Ephesians.

We seek a close relationship with God. As a priority, we hope this relationship directs our entire life, not just a portion. We give over our whole life, which is easier to say than to do. We unite with the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 4: 3)
We diligently put practices in place that draw us close to God. This means scheduling times of prayer, Scripture reading, listening to teachings, and developing life-giving relationships. (Ephesians 4:15)
We live in community with other believers. (Ephesians 4:4)
We are self-aware, recognizing our sins, repenting, and moving away from them. We spend time working on ourselves but are not overly self-focused. (Ephesians 4:22,29-30)
We edit out the time suckers in our life that distract us from God’s path for us. The key word is distraction. I recently wrote out all the ways I spend my time. It astonished me to see how much wasted time existed in my day. My friend did the same practice and realized she was in a busy season of caring for others. There wasn’t anything to cut out. But she recognized it was a season that would end. (Ephesians 4:17)
We use discernment when learning new things. The world around us will either form us or deform us. Look for the fruit of the Spirit in what we study. We yield ourselves to information that produces supernatural amounts of love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, and self-control. (Ephesians 4:2,25)
We learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s whispers. The Spirit communicates in multiple ways, and we can mishear. However, God puts up guardrails for us. We measure what we hear against Scripture. We ask for wise counsel and confirmation. We look for patterns or themes around us to see if we are pointed in a certain direction. This takes practice. (Ephesians 1:17) Like the dragonfly, we hold onto the branch of the Holy Spirit, staying flexible to move with the Spirit’s direction.

This is our lifestyle, the way we choose to live. Ephesians gives us a lovely view of this way of living. Paul instructs us to live in unity and to live for the Lord. Will you pray with me?

Dear Lord, We give everything and everyone to you trusting that you hear us and lead us. Holy Spirit we invite you into our lives to direct our path. Thank you for penetrating our inner being and leading us to be more like Jesus. Amen