Follow up to "The Struggle with Self-Control"

After writing part one of “Self-Control,” I received a couple of emails inquiring how to or what it means to release our Holy Spirit in us to work. What does that look like practically? Is it praying with confidence that God has given us a spirit of self-control? I absolutely LOVE the feedback! If ever you have questions about anything that I write, please reach out to me. There are several very Godly and wise pastors that I will reach out to if I am unable to answer your questions or concerns.

Many of us go through our Christian life doing our best, but that just isn’t enough. We must strive towards a life and attitude that cannot be attained through ourselves. The only way we can achieve the life God has designed for us is with our Helper that Jesus sent when He ascended into Heaven (John 16:7). Jesus knew we would need help and that’s why He sent a Helper! We are filled with the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ as our Savior (Acts 1:4-8), but how do we allow Him to guide us?

Our Holy Spirit is working in our lives even though we may not realize it. We must do our part to recognize His leading. The more we know about our Holy Spirit, the more we will recognize His moving. Here are a few things we may recognize that He does for us (along with references) when we are intentional about seeking Him: assures (Rom. 8:16); convicts (John 16:8-11); directs (Acts 20:22); guides (Rom. 8:14); illuminates (John 16:12-15); intercedes (Rom. 8:26); teaches (John 14:26, 16:12-15); warms (Acts 20:23). I Cor. 2:11-12 assures us that our Holy Spirit knows our thoughts and that He also helps us to understand what God has given us. We must realize that the Holy Spirit is not an “it” or a “force,” but an active person who works with God the Father and God the Son in our lives. He is part of the Trinity. We will dig deeper into the Holy Spirit later.

We must strive to be aware of His presence, which was first mentioned in Genesis 1:1-3. The Holy Spirit’s presence dwells/ lives in us as a resident forever once we are saved (Rom. 8:9, 11: 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim 1:14).  The thing is that we are all in varying degrees of spiritual growth, and the more we grow the more we come to know our Holy Spirit. The more we get to know the Holy Spirit, the more we realize more and more our inability to live life on our own, and the more we realize that we need Him. We begin to “walk by faith” (2 Cor 5:7). We begin to turn to God more often and faster as we allow our Holy Spirit to guide us.

Faith and prayer are the biggest components to allowing our Holy Spirit to have control over us. Praying scripture and trusting God no matter the circumstances get easier and easier as we practice them. Sisters, that is how you release the Holy Spirit in your life. Trusting (having faith) and prayer are the keys to having a life controlled by our Holy Spirit. Charles Stanley said, “Dependence and surrender go hand in hand. We can’t fully surrender our wills until we are convinced we are in a hopeless situation. As long as we see a way out, we will generally opt for it.” Sweet sister, when you fully acknowledge that you can’t do “IT,” whatever “IT” is, alone, then and only then can the Holy Spirit that God so graciously provided for you control and lead you.

Verses to Ponder: Acts 1:4-8; Galatians 5:18; 1 Cor. 2:11-16.

How would you describe being filled with the Holy Spirit to an unsaved person?

Are you willing to acknowledge that you can’t live in this sinful world without the leading of the Holy Spirit, or are you still trying to handle things on your own?

`Go Sew Seeds

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