Ephesians 4:30 " Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.."
This verse has been knocking at my door all week. After careful consideration, and meditation God revealed to me why this has burdened me so.
As Ephesians 4 starts out, Paul is telling the Ephesians about the unity of The Spirit in verses 1-16. In verses 17-32 he is telling how Christians are to walk..or how to act. He says we should walk in, or act in a manner worthy of our calling. Verse 22 says "to lay aside our old self and put on the new self which is the likeness of God. More specifically Paul tells us not to: be angry, don't steal, don't be bitter, and dont believe everything we hear, but, speak truth in love, walk in love, be kind, tender, patient, and tolerant and speak nicely.
We've heard this before. But, that verse "don't grieve the Holy Spirit". What does it mean to grieve? We've all experienced our own grief as a human being; the best example being the loss of a loved one. Grief is also an unhappy, painful emotion that we can give to another! We can mourn, sadden, sorrow or distress someone else. The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Holy Trinity; God.
To think that I could sadden God, cause Him sorrow, distress... that hurts. The Holy Spirit was a gift from Christ He left with us when He ascended (verses 8-9 of this chapter). We take part of God left for us as a gift and cause Him distress and sorrow. But how? By being angry, bitter, unloving, speaking in an unwholesome manner, believing everything we hear and stealing. When you think of stealing, do you think of shop lifting? Taking something that's not yours? Hmm.. Taking something that's not yours-to take .. that is part of anger, bitterness and unwholesomeness too. The Holy Spirit (God) is part of us, dwelling within us if we are born again believers. We are sealed by The Holy Spirit - this is how God shows we are His. He doesn't harbor anger or bitterness or say bad things, etc. - it's not part of who He is, therefore it can't be part of we are. Verse 27 is very specific in telling us that these things are opportunities for Satan - because they are not of God. We have to stop saddening God, and seek our renewal in Him. Love! Get rid of all this junk Satan uses! Whether it's the cashier at Walmart, the lady who cuts you off in traffic, the not so nice coworker, a family member, our neighbor, or whoever it may be - don't allow Satan the opportunity to use you to sadden, and grieve God.
Today, I stand up in opposition to allowing Satan to use me for His lies and deceit .. Will you join me as I put on love instead of bitterness anger and unwholesome talk.
Prayer for today:
Heavenly Father, I must confess my anger, I struggle with kindness. I know that it's part of Satan's tactics to grieve you and I have allowed it. But today I give my anger, my bitterness to you - renew my mind. Renew my thinking, I want to show the love you've given me. I want to be a light for you, and I ask you to turn this struggle with anger to tenderness starting today and renew it daily. Lord give me a heart of compassion, gentleness, and humility so I can be a vessel to preserve peace and unity in You. All praise honor and glory to You through the precious blood of Jesus. Amen
submitted by Jeni Morelock
