A Book Look: Forgotten God

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Forgotten God 

Another life changing read! I first would like to invite every believer to reflect on this simple, yet miraculous truth. The book Forgotten God, by Francis Chan, centers around this statement. 

The very spirit of God lives inside of you. 

Think about that. Let that sink in deep. It's something that I continually forget about. After being reminded of this foundational Christian idea and how it impacts our daily lives, I have never felt more comforted or confident. This changed so much for me! My problems don't seem so big. My fears no longer seem to be a hindrance. People's opinions of me don't seem to matter as much. Because no matter where we go, the Holy Spirit is inside of us ready to work in and through us. Even though our body is a constant source of sin, it is the very place He chooses to dwell. 

{ "I am indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And because of this reality, stress and tiredness and impatience don't have to define my day." -Chan }

Reading this book made me realize how little the modern church acknowledges the Holy Spirit. I know, personally, I tend to equate the Spirit with God and Jesus. I don't call on the Holy Spirit specifically. Although they are the same, they are also separate entities. Because of the beautiful existence of the trinity, ignoring the Holy Spirit is, essentially, ignoring God.  I understand that the Holy Spirit is real, but I do not rely on Him...and boy am I missing out! When we rely on our own human abilities, we will get human-sized results, but when we depend upon the Spirit, our life will produce God-sized results! Who wouldn't want that? Yet...do we really want the Holy Spirit to work in our life? We sure don't act like it.

Or maybe the better question is: Why do we want to experience the Spirit? Do we want the power of the Spirit to make us look good or to make God look good? The Spirit allows us to produce His fruit (Galatians 5) so that God can be glorified. When we rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit, we get God-sized results so that people, including ourselves, will have no possible explanation for those results except the very hand of God! 

{ "Lord, empower me so radically that I would get no glory." -Chan }

The Holy Spirit knows our heart. He knows our desires. But more importantly, He knows our needs. And most of the time, our needs do not match up with what we want. The Holy Spirit also knows God's will. Their desires are in sync. That being said, the Holy Spirit, who knows the very mind of God, actually prays to the Father on our behalf. How comforting is that?! Sometimes we cannot find the right words to say to God. Or we don't really know what we need so we don't know what to pray for. Or we think we know what we need so we ask God for something that is completely outside of His will. But no worries! The Holy Spirit got us covered! Check out this promise: 

{ "In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words."  Romans 8:26 }

I don't know about you, but I don't always feel very close with the Spirit. Especially since I ignore Him so much. Francis points out that the reason most of the world lacks intimacy with the Holy Spirit is because they do not spend time alone with Him. Sounds pretty obvious right? I mean, how do people become best friends? By spending time with each other. If only one of them or neither of them puts in the effort to talk, listen (actually listen--no "multitasking"), or do fun activities, then the friendship will suffer. The BFFs will drift apart. The same applies to our relationship with God. But unlike some human relationships though, we do not have to prove ourselves before we sit down with God. He does not want us to show HIM how good WE are. He wants US to see how good of a Father HE is. He is always there for us. Listening, speaking, and leading us on new adventures. He loves it when we spend time with Him alone, free of distractions, phone away, heart united to fear His Name, and thoughts inclined toward His Word. That is when we get close to the Spirit. When we are calm and quiet enough to listen to Him. The Holy Spirit is the one who draws us closer to the Lord's presence crying "Abba, Father".  

The impact of the Spirit does not always look like miracles, audible voices, or involuntary bodily actions. The Spirit works anytime God gets the glory. He leads us every single day, (even on Tuesdays and even in the little things). Are you in tune with His direction? This requires an eternal perspective, intentionality, constant prayer, and eyes to see what God sees. Focus more on what the Spirit is asking you to do today than where God is going to lead you in the future. He has given each of us supernatural gifts intended to be used for God's glory. Your Spirit-driven abilities can serve others and magnify Christ today. Walking in the Spirit entails constant interaction with Him right now. 

The very spirit of God lives inside of us. Shouldn't that make us look different from the natural human being? Why is it that we can't tell a born again, Spirit-filled Christian from a non-believer whose body is void of an all-powerful divine entity? It may be the Spirit's strength and His fruit, but we must work alongside Him in this process of producing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self- control. God gives us both the will and the way to produce the fruits of the Spirit (Philippians 2:13). And when, by His grace, He does manifest those divine traits in us, we look a whole lot different from the world. 

If you are guilty of quenching the work of the Spirt...tired of ignoring God...ready to obey His leading wherever He may take you...here is a beautiful prayer that I encourage you to recite to the Lord with a genuine heart. It sums up the message of this book perfectly.

{ "I am tired of living in a way that looks exactly like people who do not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them. I want to consistently live with an awareness of His strength. I want to be different today from what I was yesterday as the fruit of the Spirit becomes more manifest in me. I want to live so that I am truly submitted to the Spirit's leading on a daily basis. Christ said it is better for us that the Spirit came, and I want to live like I know that is true. I don't want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly." -Chan }

What a privilege it is that we have the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus that, even though you only spent a short time on this earth, you left each of your children with the Spirit of God so that we would not have to face the challenges of this sinful earth alone. When God looks down on us, He sees the perfection of the Holy Spirit instead of our sinful flesh.

{ "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." John 16:7 }

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