The pastors in the church I attend have been teaching for some weeks on the Holy Spirit. It has been, in my opinion, timely for the days in which we live. Truthfully, we can never hear enough about the Spirit of God.
It is the Holy Spirit that opens up our spirits to hear and receive from God. Without His involvement in our lives we would lack much understanding of God's word. An understanding that is critical to these days, and the days before us.
Ironically, when listening to a teaching on the Holy Spirit, before we can grasp the depth of what is being spoken, we need the Holy Spirit's interpretation. Basically, I am saying we need the Holy Spirit to teach us the truth about who He is before we can know Him. Without this intimate understanding of the Third Person in the Trinity, there will be much in God's word that will not be explainable. On the reverse side, with the help of the Helper, the Spirit of Truth, we will believe what He is telling us. He will open up our hearts of understanding, and when we understand Who the Holy Spirit truly is, we will have no fear of Him.
Now let's return to the question of making room for the Holy Spirit.
Do we not make room for Him out of fear, or because we don't really think we need further understanding, or out of ignorance? I am not suggesting that you, or I are ignorant, but I am saying that we may be ignorant as to the importance of the Holy Spirit. That ignorance, or blind spot, may be simply because we think we need to walk out our salvation by ourselves. I do believe that if we think this, we are sadly mistaken.
As I am writing and thinking through this post I had an interesting thought. Can you imagine that you and I are deep in a forest alone, and we are trying to find our way out. We then come to where we have a choice to make. Do we go right or do we go left? I will go so far as to ask us to imagine that one leads out, while the other leads deeper into the woods. Both may look similar, but clearly they are not. So, here is the question.
If you and I knew that we had the option to ask which way gets us safely out, would we, or would we just blindly make an educated guess? It is up to us, but we need to understand that one leads to possible danger, while the other to safety.
That is what the Holy Spirit does for us. He has the answers that we need. We need to only ask, acknowledging our need, and desire for Him. His mission is to lead us into all truth. Not some truth, but all truth.
Are we making room for the Holy Spirit?
I would venture to say that we are not making as much room for Him as we should. But knowing that He is patiently waiting may be just what we need, to open that door wide, and invite Him in to stay. I guarantee this will be a decision we will never regret.
John 14:16-17 ESV And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.