POWER FROM ABOVE: THE HOLY SPIRIT

READINGS: PENTECOST SUNDAY

Before He ascended into heaven, Christ told His disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Spirit. In other words, they were not to begin their mission of proclaiming the good news of salvation until they receive help from above.  He knew that success in their mission was going to be dependent on their ability to walk with the Holy Spirit. This instruction was not just meant for the apostles alone, relative to preaching about the kingdom of God, but, also, for all of us; a reminder that before we set out for any business project or endeavor, we should commend it into the hands of God and to the guidance and counsel of the Holy Spirit, for Scripture says, “Bring your work unto the Lord and your plans shall be established” (Proverb 16:3). 

Many a time, we trust in our power, our connections, and our skills and abilities in the engagement of our undertakings. But the Bible says, “Cursed is he man whose hope is in the flesh, who finds strength in human beings” (Jeremiah 17:5) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).  This is why, in all that we do, we must find it in our heart to invite the Holy Spirit to take control of our endeavors, our aspirations, our goals and dreams, and to invite Him to light up the dark spots in our lives, awaken the dead places in our humanness, counter the desperation in our hopes, enliven our faith in God, and guide and lead us along the rough paths of life. Christ understood the importance of this and that was why He instructed His disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they were “Clothed with power from on high”—the Holy Spirit. He knew they needed help from above to succeed in their mission; and so, do we. Being divine, He understands the human heart and how it works; its deceits and compromises, it’s bent on resisting the word of God, and what it takes to convert it. There is no doubt that we are intelligent human beings, creative and innovative, and yet manipulative, deceitful, and fallible to sin and wrongdoing, and therefore, in need of divine help to make it through life and come into glory with the Lord.

It is the Holy Spirit that grants us the supernatural boldness to speak truth to conscience, to rise from ashes into which we have fallen, from the chains of bondage, from the prison of past pain, and from the darkness in our souls, and to step boldly into a future full of hope, joy, and peace. It is the Holy Spirit that grants grace to heal, to deliver, to restore, to resurrect, to bind and cast out demons, and to stand steadfast in our faith in the face of life struggles. It is the Holy Spirit that stirs up within us the spirit to dream again, to rise again, to shine again, to be joyful again, to be hopeful again, after we are down and out. It is the Holy Spirit that grants us the courage to become the joy of the Lord to a broken world, helping us become the healing hand of God to the broken hearted; fighting-agents for justice, equity, and fairness for all; demolishers of the barriers of bigotry, discrimination, hatred, and racism; beacons of light shining in midst of darkness; agents of joy, peace, and hope in a world turn apart by strife, greed, and suffering.  The Holy Spirit is the conduit of life from God to us, the one that directs our steps through all the complicated paths of life, the one that guarantees our heavenly inheritance, for Scripture calls Him the “deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (Eph. 1:14). All the spiritual gifts we need to serve God come from the Holy Spirit. Scripture says, “To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge, to another faith, to another healing, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy” (1 Corinthians 12:7). It is through the Holy Spirit that we can bear the fruits of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control; gifts that help us become the best versions of ourselves. May the good Lord grant us the grace to live by the dictates of the Holy Spirit!