When you speak about the Holy Spirit, many thoughts come to mind. Many Christians don’t even try to explore the Holy Spirit because they do not want to be associated with strange fainting, rolling in aisles of churches and speaking in unintelligible languages. It appears to be a show. The attention focuses on the person dancing in the aisle or claiming to know a heavenly language that sets them apart from others. It’s all rather difficult to take in if you were not raised in this kind of setting.
I do believe that the Holy Spirit manifests Himself in different Christian lives in different ways. Most of what I observe is that you learn to accept His presence from being around other Christians who accept His presence in that way. The Holy Spirit never overpowers a Christian’s free will. You have to want Him to be graced by His presence.
I admit I do feel uncomfortable in some settings where Christians are worshipping in the Spirit. Settings like that seem to shut down my connection to God in the Spirit and raise doubt about the strange happenings I have witnessed. It is not my place to say that because of my personal response in such settings that they are not from God. All I know is that they are not from God for me.
What I do know for sure is how the Bible describes the Holy Spirit coming into our lives. The Bible goes into great detail about it. I want to talk about one way that all Christians from the lively worshippers to the “frozen chosen”, can receive the the filling of the Holy Spirit, and that is a deep connection to God that is like Father to child.
Paul explains the Christian status as heirs of God. He writes in Romans 8:15: “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’.”
The Spirit of God manifested in Christians will awaken us to an intimate and loving connection to God. This connection is not only intimate and loving but also empowering and sufficient. As the Spirit calls out “Abba” from your soul, you are reminded that your Father-God has made you an heir of all He owns and that He loves you beyond reason. Though imprisoned by the world in your present condition, you know the reality is that you are a dearly beloved child of God and that your Father is rescuing you in time from the prison of the world. In the meantime, He asks you to live your best life, seeing the resources He brings to you in a fallen world.
With a Spirit that cries “Abba” you can stop chasing love from your relationships and begin to feel the power of being loved. This soul-sustaining love fills your heart to the brim and overflows into genuine, forgiving, and selfless love for others. You are still human, so you will need to cry a few tears from the rejection and hurt you live with, but your tears are wiped away only by the dear Father-God-Abba-Daddy, whose comfort is beyond all other comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3).
Holy Spirit-filled Christians know they are dearly loved children. Holy Spirit-filled Christians are assured of their inheritance in heaven. Holy Spirit-filled Christians want to spend their time on earth doing the work their loving Father prepared for them. Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit are secure in the storms of life, are at peace in the stress of chaotic relationships and are comforted by a Father’s love.
