253 of 365 - Spirit-Filled Living

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4
 
Francis Chan says, “If it’s true that the Spirit of God dwells in us and that our bodies are the Holy Spirit’s temple, then shouldn’t there be a huge difference between the person who has the Spirit of God living inside of him or her and the person who does not?”

Do you ever think about this? I think about it a lot! I think about the power of the Holy Spirit we see in Acts, and I’m convicted that we have this incredible power available to us – in us – and we are missing it somehow. We are suppressing it for I don’t know why…fear, comfort, familiar, pride, desires, cultural assimilation? I fear every time we try to do something in our own power and of our own will, we push further down this greater power inside us.

I often feel like I am one of the followers still stuck in the room before the Holy Spirit came. I know Jesus, I believe Jesus, I love Jesus, I declare Jesus my Lord and Savior…but I am still scared behind closed doors not receiving or activating the power that has been given to me. I am hesitant, still trying to maintain some false sense of control. And I am missing out.

God, break away any pride, fear, settling, striving, manipulating, coveting that is keeping me from tapping into the power You have already given me through my belief in the work of Jesus. Help me not to be so afraid of the mighty wind and tongues of fire, content with what the world says is “comfortable” and “safe.”  I want all of You I can get – Father, Son, AND Holy Spirit. I don’t want to miss any of it. I want my life to look like something I could never do. Only You.  As missionary David Brainerd said, “Lord, let me make a difference for you that is utterly disproportionate to who I am.”
 
Questions: Do you relate more to the people when they were huddled behind closed doors still a bit afraid, or with the spirit-filled transformed people boldly proclaiming the Gospel? If you still feel like you are stuck in that room, write a prayer to God in your journal about it.