A new year. New beginnings. Not sure where to start?
Begin here.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom, through Christ, you were sealed from evil and the consequences of sin unto the day of final deliverance. Ephesians 4:30 Adapted ACT
The word grieve here is taken from the Greek word lupete (lupe). Lupe describes a pain or grief that can only be experienced between two people who love each other deeply. It would normally be used to picture a husband or wife who has discovered his or her mate has been unfaithful. As a result of this unfaithfulness, the betrayed spouse is shocked, devastated, hurt, wounded, and grieved because of the pain that accompanies unfaithfulness.
So it is with the Holy Spirit. It is not surprising that The Holy Spirit is deeply in love with us. He convicted us of sin and brought us to Jesus. He indwelt us, sanctified us, and empowers us. The Holy Spirit longs for us, thinks about us, desires to be close to us, and wants to reveal Himself to us. So when we deliberately enter into sin, it grieves Him.
Like the injury that would follow marital infidelity, the Holy Spirit is shocked when we dishonor His Presence in our lives. When we act like the world, talk like the world, behave like the world, and respond the same way the world does, we cause the Spirit of God to feel shock, hurt, and grief. Because He lives in us and goes wherever we go, when we deliberately do what is wrong, we drag Him right into the mire of sin with us.
We need to realize how precious the Holy Spirit is in our lives and honor Him by making sure we live holy and upright lives. If our behavior has been wrong, we should confess our sin and receive cleansing by the blood of Jesus so we can be restored to fellowship with the Spirit of God.
So before you get started with your daily activities today, stop and ask, “Holy Spirit, is there anything in my life that causes You grief? If there is, please reveal it to me so I can change.”
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, I ask You to forgive me for allowing attitudes and actions in my life that are dishonoring to You. I want to please You more than ever before, so I ask You to help me recognize those negative things in my life that cause You pain. Help me to permanently walk free of them. From the depths of my heart, I thank You for all You have done inside me. Starting right now, I want to live every moment of my life with the intent to please You and to never cause You grief again. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen
MY CONFESSION FOR TODAY
Starting today, I make the choice to walk away from everything in my life that is displeasing and desecrating to the Holy Spirit’s Presence within me. I walk away from every negative thought, word, and deed that has tried to operate in me and that is dishonoring to Him. I turn the other direction to walk a new walk and talk a new talk that shows respect and love for the Spirit of God who dwells inside me. I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!
#newbeginnings
Adapted from Sparkling Gems From the Greek, Rick Renner