Grace, Hope, On the Journey Together, Words of Endurance
Trusting the Holy Spirit Within Me
But I need something more!
For if I know the law but still can’t keep it,
and if the power of sin within me keeps
sabotaging my best intentions,
I obviously need help!
I can will it, but I can’t do it.
ROMANS 7:17-19 (THE MESSAGE)
As I have shared before, these past five years have been one of the most significant seasons of my spiritual journey. I have learned about the power of my words and the hurt they can inflict but I have also learned that I, alone, cannot manage this sin. It is impossible, trust me, I’ve tried it and frustratingly it doesn’t work.
What I have been learning over these past five years is that I can trust the Holy Spirit within me to guide and transform my heart. I can trust that while my flesh is always with me so is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can reflect the person of Jesus in me for the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and self control which my flesh is incapable of. The result of trusting the Holy Spirit within me is words spoken that affirm and don’t tear down.
Has this been easy? No! Trusting was really letting go of everything I thought was the way I “should” live and then relying on the Holy Spirit to transform my heart to speak the words that express my love and care, that encourage and build people up instead of tearing them down.
I really don’t know how else to explain it but I’ve discovered that this really does work! Although I haven’t been perfect my words have been more encouraging, more loving, more caring and understanding. I have learned to listen more and speak less. The result is my life looks so different today than it used to. It is more than just the words I speak – it is the way I am living and it has been oh so freeing!
Those who think they can do it on their own
end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle
but never get around to exercising it in real life.
Those who trust God’s action in them
find that God’s Spirit is in them –
living and breathing God!
Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end;
attention to God leads us out into the open,
into a spacious free life.
ROMANS 8:5-7 (THE MESSAGE)
On The Journey With You,
Dave Dravecky
