Category: Uncategorized

Have you read Hebrews, chapter 11 lately? It is such a worthwhile read. In that chapter, God gives us a whole list of people in the Old Testament who obeyed God even though they didn’t have all the answers.

We see an example of someone who built an ark even though he had never seen rain. (Noah).

We see someone who went on a long journey even though he didn’t know where he was going. (Abraham).

We see that same someone who was willing to sacrifice his own son, “…even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.'” (Heb. 11:17)

Obedience, even though _______ is the evidence of faith. The reason people like Noah, Abraham, and others were able to respond to God in obedience is because they had great faith.

Hebrews 11:1 defines faith like this:  “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

I don’t know about you, but I find these examples of faith so inspiring, admirable and in some ways, very hard to emulate.

I always want to know what’s ahead. I want to see what God has in store for me. I want clarity.

Alas, what God wants is my obedience.

He wants my obedience even though I don’t know what’s ahead, even though I can’t yet see what He has in store for me and even though I have zero clarity.

Obedience is not necessarily about knowledge, it’s about faith.

When our faith is placed in God, we can never go wrong. We can act on His commands because we have confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

We can obey,  even though.

So, my friends, let us go be radiant this week as we exercise our faith in an attitude of obedience.

Parenting can be both perplexing and exhausting at times. So when I read an article called, How to Speak to Your Children When They Misbehave, that Focus on the Family posted on their website, I found it to be really practical and refreshing.

The authors, Wendy Speake, and Amber Lia, shared a handful of scenarios that parents of toddlers to teens can relate to. More importantly, they shared some scripted responses we can tuck away in our parenting tool belt.

Though the article focused on scripted responses to various situations, I was more impacted by how the coaching and disciplining of our children doesn’t just serve to modify behavior but also to develop character.

I realized that my discipline efforts have been a little short-sighted. In How To Speak to Your Children When They Misbehave, I was challenged with a more long-term approach. The authors purport, “The goal is for our kids to be so used to thinking about the impact of their actions that they grow into adults who instinctively evaluate their choices instead of being mastered by their desires or emotions.”

Yes! That’s exactly what I want for my boys! I want them to learn to instinctively evaluate their choices, not yell and scream because they didn’t get their way!

I also want to instill in them a sense of gratefulness. So often they pout and whine when they ask for something and my husband or I say no. It can be frustrating for us because we give them so much. But in How To Speak to Your Children When They Misbehave, the authors reminded me that “…contentment is a character trait that must be learned. It doesn’t come naturally.”

We have to find ways to teach them to be content, instead of unrealistically expecting them to just naturally be content. If we were honest, many of us adults would say that’s a lesson for us too.

Another lesson that’s difficult for kids and some parents alike is that of putting things back where they belong. The shoes go ON the shoe rack (not in front of it, not in the middle of the entry way…sorry, pet peeve of mine), the dirty clothes go in the laundry basket, the toys go back in their bins. My kids know this, but getting them to do it is a whole different story. Getting them to do it without being reminded…well, let’s just say we have not arrived yet.

When I grow weary of reminding and repeating, I need to remember this from the article I read,“We teach them to put their socks in the laundry basket not just because we want them to be organized but because we want them to be characterized by integrity and a willingness to go the extra mile.”

Yes! I want my kids to be characterized by integrity, the willingness to go the extra mile, and to be self-disciplined. Do you want that for your kids or grandkids? How do we do that? The authors of the article suggest this: “First we disciple our kids with words, then we discipline them with consequences, and finally they grow to be self-disciplined.”

I love that approach, but I would also add that we need to have an “outrageous commitment,” to borrow a phrase from Charlotte Gambill, to faithfully and consistently discipline our children. Sometimes I grow weary of it. I find disciplining my children to be incredibly draining at times, but I have to stick with it no matter what because that might just be one of the greatest things I can ever do for them.

One of the things my husband and I pray for our kids is that they would know Jesus and follow Him all of their days. Sometimes I forget that helping them develop in the everyday things can actually impact their spiritual growth as well. The authors of How To Speak to Your Children When They Misbehave, put it this way: “When we equip our kids to develop a strong work ethic in the everyday tasks, we prepare them to establish a strong spiritual ethic, too.”

Though every stage of parenting is going to bring new challenges, I feel like I’ve gained a longer-term perspective. I think my parenting weariness will be bolstered as I remind myself that instructing, coaching and disciplining my kids now directly impacts their long-term character and spiritual development.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this, or the article by Wendy Speake, and Amber Lia.

In the meantime, let us go be radiant this week!

Is refusing to go to the gym considered resistance training? LOL. I don’t think that technically meets the definition, but it does cause the corners of my mouth to lift a bit.

One of the pastors at my church recently used resistance training as an illustration in one of his sermons on the book of Romans. As the hubby and I were discussing the idea, it made us think of the surrender vs. submit concept I wrote about in my last post.

The media tells us, and not so subtly, to give in to temptation, to surrender to our every whim. We hear and see messages like, “everything in moderation,” and “it’s just a little white lie.”

If we aren’t careful, those messages can begin to take up residence in our minds and the slope gets slippery.

What happens when we think it’s okay to just give in and surrender? Essentially, we stop doing the very thing we are called to do in Scripture. We stop resisting. We no longer stand our ground.

^{8 “}Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8-9

Just as resistance training at the gym makes you physically stronger, resisting the devil in life makes you spiritually stronger.

When you are submitted to God and you resist the devil, he will flee from you. (James 4:7).

Think about how Jesus was able to resist the devil when He was in the wilderness. He had just received the Holy Spirit at His baptism and found Himself being tempted by the devil. (See Matt. 4).

What did Jesus do to resist the devil?

1. He used Scripture. He recited the very words of God and they were powerful!
2. He knew that He was operating out of a place of victory.

When we are facing temptation in our everyday lives, (not if, but when) we can more effectively fight it when we have tangible tools to use.

One incredibly tangible tool is the Word of God. We know what our temptations are (food, gossip, over spending, lust…). So let’s scour the Scriptures for verses that talk about those things and MEMORIZE them. Then, when we are in that moment and we have to make a choice to resist sin or surrender to it, the Holy Spirit can bring to mind the powerful Words we’ve memorized and we can speak them out.

Not only that, let’s remember that we already have victory in Jesus. Now, that’s not to say that we can sit back on our laurels. No, Scripture tells us to run the race as if to win the prize. (See 1 Cor. 9 :24). We know we will win the race, but we still have to be disciplined to run the race and run it well. That means throwing off (actively resisting) the sin that so easily entangles us.

Can I encourage you to pray through the things God wants you to resist today?  Grab your journal and write down what He reveals and then search for those things in Scripture. Biblegateway.com is a great resource. Capture some of those verses in your journal, on sticky notes or note cards so that you can begin to hide them in your heart and more effectively resist temptation.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Please comment below.

Let us go be radiant this week!

 

Hello friends. It’s been far too long since I’ve written. Life has been a little fuller than usual and I greatly appreciate your patience.

The hubby and I were talking one morning and he brilliantly brought up two words I would have typically used interchangeably: surrender and submit. However, instead of pointing out how similar they are, he did exactly the opposite. I love it when he provokes all kinds of wheel-turning in my head.

The more he shared and the more I thought on it and later studied it for myself, the more convinced I was, and am, that surrender and submit are indeed quite different. And the implications are pretty significant.

The word, surrender, in the Bible, is most often in the Old Testament in reference to wars or battles. In fact, it’s much like we would use the word today.

When one side has overpowered the other side, they have no choice but to surrender. When a criminal is caught by the authorities, he is left with no other option than to surrender. However, in both cases, should the people who surrendered see an opportunity to escape, they would take it in a heart beat.

Why? Because they were under duress. There was no willingness on their part. They didn’t surrender because they had choice, but because there was no other choice.

Let’s step out of the throes of battles and the lives of criminals for a moment and instead imagine ourselves in a place of worship. Think of songs you might sing like, “I Surrender All,” and other more modern songs that have phrases such as, “…to you my soul surrendered.”

While my intention here is not to degrade these beautiful songs, it is to challenge their theology, if at least a little.

Does the Bible tell us that God wants to have a relationship with us, such that we are surrendered to Him? And by “surrendered,” I mean the kind in battles, where there is no other choice?

What if, instead, God has in mind for our relationship to be one of submission to Him?

I know some of you may cringe at the word, “submission,” because of how it has been misinterpreted, misunderstood, incorrectly taught or incorrectly applied. Though it can be a touchy subject, I would encourage to you to keep an open mind as you continue reading.

Let’s look at an example in the life of Jesus as it pertains to submission and how that might impact our relationship with God.

Matthew 8:5-10

^“5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.'”

The Centurion understood the power and authority of Jesus, partially because he, himself, was a man under authority. He *willfully* submitted to authority, while also having others willfully submit to him.

Willful submission might first happen as the result of a position your find yourself in, for example your role at work, but ideally, it also happens because you trust the person to whom you submit.

In Ephesians 5, we often focus on the “wives submit to your husbands,” portion of the passage, and neglect what it says just prior to that. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Here we see the direct connection to submitting to God and how that connects to resisting the devil.

Surrender keeps us in a place of defeat, submission keeps us in a place of  victory.

When we are submitted to God, He empowers us to do His will.

We see example after example in Scripture of the relational concept of submission. In contrast to the notion of surrender, to submit, is to willfully put yourself under someone’s authority. We don’t do it because we have no other choice. We choose to do it because we respect and trust that person’s authority.

When you interview for a job, that position will likely require you to have a supervisor. If you accept the job, you choose to put yourself under that person’s authority.

So as we think about our relationship with God, does it make more sense to say, “God I willfully submit to You, because You are the Creator of the heavens and the earth, because you sent your Son to die for me, because you are worthy of my trust,” or does it make more sense to say, “God, I surrender to you because I am defeated and have no other choice.”?

I believe God has called us to a place of trust and submission, as opposed to a place of defeat and surrender, in our relationship with Him. Distinguishing between these two concepts challenges me to ask myself where I’m not fully submitted to God’s will for my life and in which areas I can trust Him more.

For further study, do a search in the Bible on “surrender” and “submit.” Look at the life of Abraham and how he submitted to God’s will (this might show up in a future post too).

I would love to hear your thoughts about surrender vs. submit. Please leave a comment.

In the meantime, let us go be radiant this week.

 

How do Dandelions relate to our spiritual lives? Find out in my video. Enjoy! Please leave your comments below.

Let us go be radiant this week!

Chocolate. Dark, rich, delicious chocolate. I have a bit of a chocolate obsession (total understatement). It truly is one of the priority food groups in my diet. I’ve wondered how I could incorporate the topic in my blog for quite some time, but alas, it just wasn’t something Jesus really talked about.

However, when pondering the topic I want to talk about in this post, I couldn’t help but see how it connected to chocolate, at least in my life anyway.

In my last post, An Easter Reflection, we talked about two choices Jesus made that have forever changed our lives. He chose to humble Himself and He chose to die on the cross for our sins.

Aside from the gratefulness we feel and express for the choices He made, there is one other response He calls us to. He wants us to do the same. Jesus said in Luke 9:23 that if anyone wanted to be His disciple, there were three things that person must do:

1. Deny him/herself
2. Take up their cross
3.  Follow Him

What does it mean to deny yourself? My first, superficial response was, “it means that I can no longer allow myself to eat chocolate!” LOL. I mean, it is somewhat of an indulgence, after all.

Seriously though, we live in a world where we are often taught to put our selves first. The rationale is that if we aren’t taking care of ourselves, how can we take care of others?

This line of thinking has even woven it’s way into Christian circles under the seemingly harmless name of, “soul care.” Now don’t get me wrong, I believe it’s important to care for our souls and to make sure we are getting the time we need with God, in His Word and with others. Those things are vital to a healthy Jesus-following life.

However, Jesus said that those who want to follow Him must deny themselves. What did He mean by that? I found a couple of insights that helped me understand the idea a little better. One of them was from the Benson Commentary, where it notes that the denying oneself is a “…rule that can never be too much observed.” It goes on to say, “…let him in all things deny his own will, however pleasing, and do the will of God, however painful.”

Isn’t it true that doing our will is so much more pleasing than doing the sometimes painful will of God? Ugh. That hits me right in the gut.

The all-encompassing idea of self-denial noted by Benson is paralleled in Ellicott’s Commentary for English readers, where he purports that it is the denial of the “whole self.” It is to deny all of one’s “…natural motives and impulses, so far as they come into conflict with the claims of Christ.”

Let us hope that chocolate does not come into conflict with the claims of Christ! 🙂

Self-denial is not just about a lack of self-indulgence. It’s really about humility– understanding  our place before God. And it’s about discipline. We must have (and desperately pray for) the discipline to avoid, even run from, our fleshly desires for things that don’t honor Jesus.

What happens if we don’t develop the humility and discipline to deny ourselves? Ellicott’s commentary brings it home with these words, “If he does not so deny himself, he is in danger, as Peter was (it is significant that the same word is used in both instances), of denying his Lord.” If we don’t deny ourselves, we may in fact end up denying Jesus! That scares me because I can so easily see that happening.

Instead of putting our self first, may we always put our Savior first.

Because Jesus embodied an attitude of humility on this earth, He was able to “take up His cross,” (with some help), just as He asks us to do. We will never be able to take up our cross unless we have first learned how to deny ourselves. 

I’m not saying it’s easy. Character development rarely comes naturally or easily. It’s a choice, a daily one.

My challenge to us this week is to chew on the idea of self-denial, to be mindful of it and to think about what it looks like at a practical level in each of our own lives. May God give us great depth of insight as we first think about it and then seek to apply it.

Every time I eat chocolate this week, it’s going to trigger my thinking 🙂

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on this post or any previous ones you’ve read. Please do leave a note below. In the meantime, let us go be radiant this week.

 

Several months ago, I was texting with a friend who was on her way to visit some in-laws. She was asking for prayer because her relationship with them had been challenging at times. In the course of our text, we realized that a good attitude on her part wouldn’t just magically happen. She was going to have to choose to have one.

Don’t you find that to be true for most areas in our lives? For example, a healthy spiritual life doesn’t just happen. We have to choose to create an environment that will foster it.

A wonderful marriage doesn’t just happen. We have to daily, sometimes hourly ;), choose to love our spouses.

Unchangeable circumstances may ascend on us out of nowhere and at that moment, we choose how we will handle them.

This idea of choosing isn’t about deciding what we’re going to eat or which gift we are going to purchase for someone. It’s all about our attitude and where we are going to put our energy and effort.

You may have heard For King & Country’s song, Joy. If not, take a listen to it here. The song lyrics describe a choice that needs to be made and the choice is joy.

I love the idea of choosing joy in the midst of difficult circumstances. While it isn’t easy, by any means, it has the ability to drastically change our perspective, our attitude, and how we navigate the harder seasons of our lives.

When I think of Jesus, I think about two choices He made that will forever change my life and yours.

As part of the Trinity, He could have come into this world in a very regal, majestic way. Instead, He chose to enter in the most humble of circumstances. That humble posture continued throughout His life on this earth and again became so evident when our King of Kings rode on a donkey as the masses shouted, “Hosanna!”

In Philippians 2:8, we see just how far His humility went:

“And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!”

He chose humility and He chose death. He chose to die for my sins, and yours, that we might be washed white as snow; that we might be forgiven and have a right relationship with God; that we might have our names written in the Book of Life.

Those two choices have changed my life.

In light of the choices Jesus made for me, I cannot help but feel compelled to make choices that would honor and please Him.

James 4:4 reminds us, “…therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of this world becomes an enemy of God.” The choices we make directly impact and influence our relationship with God and those around us.

As I think about choices I want to make to honor God, this is my prayer:  May God help me to choose to love and follow Him no matter what. May I reflect His glory in my everyday life as I choose to love, choose to be joyful, and choose to share Truth with others.

As you think about Jesus’s choices to embrace humility and die on the cross, how does that effect you? Is He speaking to your heart about any choices you might need to make in your life right now? If you feel comfortable sharing, I would love to read your comments below.

Wishing you a very blessed Easter as you rejoice in our risen Savior!

Let us choose to go be radiant this week!

Visualize someone’s feet for a moment. Think about a word you would use to describe them.

Did the word “beautiful” first come to mind when you pictured feet? I didn’t think so. LOL.  The words “stinky” or “ugly,” however, might have been the first descriptors to pop into your brain.

We don’t typically think of feet as beautiful. We often think of them as calloused and dirty. In Jesus’ day, the combination of dusty roads and sandals made for some especially filthy feet.

In my last post, How Did Jesus Walk?, I wrote about the pace at which Jesus walked. Whether it was deliberate, purposeful and with a sense of urgency, or whether it was labored and slow on His way to the cross, there was no getting around dirty feet.

Imagining those layers of thickly, caked-on grime makes what Jesus did even more powerful when He washed the disciple’s feet. See John 13. The King of Kings humbled Himself, almost like a foreshadowing of how He would humble Himself on the cross. Just as the water washed away the dirt on the disciple’s feet and made them clean, Jesus’ blood would wash away all of their sin forevermore and make all people who accept Him truly clean.

Jesus instructed the disciples to do for one another what He had done for them.

Isn’t it interesting that what the world sees as stinky and dirty, God sees as beautiful and useful to help spread His message? Read Isaiah 52:7 below:

“How beautiful on the mountains
    are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
    who bring good tidings,
    who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
    “Your God reigns!”

The feet that bring good news are so very beautiful because they are life-giving; eternal life.

In Matthew 10, Jesus called the disciples to Him and told them to go “…to the lost sheep of Israel.” He continued, “As you go, proclaim this message:  ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” (Mt. 10:6-8).

Jesus wanted the disciples to get on their feet and walk to the lost sheep of Israel with the message that would save their lives. Jesus also told them, “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” (Mt. 10:14).

Just as Jesus sent out the disciples, Paul later exhorted the Ephesians to the same mission, giving them ways to protect themselves against the enemy. He wrote, “…be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Eph. 6:10-11).

Paul goes on to tell them to put on the full armor of God, which includes a word about their feet:  “…and with your feet fitted with the readiness that come from the gospel of peace.” (Eph. 6:15).

Friends, are your feet clean and ready to go so that you can share the Gospel with others? Wouldn’t God love to see more and more “beautiful” feet on the mountains, in the hills, on the streets, in the neighborhoods — all bringing good news, proclaiming peace and proclaiming salvation?

As we approach Easter, let us be mindful of Jesus’ death on the cross and the cleansing power of His blood. He defeated the grave! He rose from the dead! We have the BEST NEWS EVER to share with those who desperately need to hear it.

Let’s get on our feet and share this life-changing and life-saving truth. I can think of no better way to go be radiant.

As always, I would love to see your comments.

photo credit grahamjbaird.blogspot.com

Have you ever thought about how Jesus walked? Did He walk slowly in a meandering kind of fashion? Did He walk purposefully like He was a man on a mission? Did He walk quickly, knowing the time was short?

Since Jesus literally walked almost everywhere He went (minus the times he took a boat), I kind of always envisioned Him walking slowly, steadily. I have pictures in my mind of different events during His life and ministry, such as when He and the disciples were reclining at the table or when He was up on a mountain praying.

Those times give me the impression that Jesus had a somewhat slow pace about His daily rhythm. However, as I began to read through the book of Mark, I think His walking pace, and even His life pace was a bit faster than I imagined.

He was on the move quite a bit after his baptism and temptation time in the wilderness. He started gathering His team together (a.k.a. the disciples) and went from town to town, teaching and healing people.

Sometimes when we read little bits here and there of the Gospels, we might get a sense that Jesus healed one person here, one person there. But in actuality, I believe Jesus healed far more people than we realize, thus making His pace faster than what I originally thought.

For example, Mark tells us, “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door, and Jesus healed many who had various diseases…” (Mark 1:32-34a, emphasis mine). It wasn’t just a matter of healing a sick mother-in-law here and there.

When people heard that Jesus had returned home, “They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.” (Mark 2:2)

If you keep reading through the next several chapters of Mark, you will see how often a “large crowd” gathered around Jesus. The people were so desperate for healing that they literally ran to Him. “As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.” (Mark 6:54-55, emphasis mine).

Jesus’ time was so occupied by teaching and healing, that there were occasions where He didn’t even have time to eat. “Then, because so many people were coming and going that that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'” (Mark 6:20, emphasis mine). You know your life is full when you don’t even have time to eat. I feel like my life is too full at times when I don’t get to drink my coffee hot in the mornings.

I had a professor in college who said that she walked quickly everywhere she went. That didn’t mean she didn’t make time for people, but rather that she was intentional and purposeful as she headed toward her destination.

Put another way, perhaps we could say that Jesus walked deliberately and with a sense of urgency.

photo credit biblestudywithbishopmiller.blogspot.com

Jesus had a limited amount of time on this earth and He had a mission to accomplish. Understanding that likely instilled in Him a sense of urgency to complete what the Father had ordained for Him to do.

Like Jesus, we also have a limited amount of time we’ve been given on this earth. One thing that has brought that truth home recently is the study I’ve been doing with my small group in the book of Joel.

Joel is a prophetic book in the Old Testament that focuses on the Day of the Lord, mentioned five times in the brief three-chapter book. Further study on the Day of the Lord throughout the Old and New Testaments reveals that it is going to be a time of reckoning, a time of judgment and those who have not repented will face undeniable doom and destruction.

I have to admit that studying that reminded me rather strongly that I need to be walking and living with a sense of urgency. Who knows how many days, weeks, months or years I have left on this earth? I need to be telling people and showing them through my radiance (reflecting God’s glory) about the saving Truth of Jesus Christ.

If part of our maturation process as Believers is to be more like Christ, I think it would behoove us to walk as He did. Let’s not meander or wander through our day-to-day lives. Let us go be radiant as we are mindful of the lost souls around us, and walk toward them with a sense of urgency.

What happens when we don’t see or feel the Holy Spirit working in our lives? How does it impact our walk with God when we hear disturbingly loud silence from the Holy Spirit?

Some might begin to feel discouraged. Some might feel like they aren’t “spiritual enough” and therefore they can’t sense the Holy Spirit’s presence. Others might begin to doubt or question their faith.

Even if we cognitively know the Holy Spirit, if our experience doesn’t align with that knowledge, our confidence in our understanding can unravel a bit if we let it.

Whenever I wrestle with a theological issue like this, I always find it helpful to go back to the fundamentals. By going back to the basics, I confirm the foundations upon which my spiritual house is built.

If you study the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, you’ll find that He is present at specific times for specific purposes. Here is an example from Numbers 11:24-26:

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.

²⁶ However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.

The elders were able to prophesy when “the Spirit rested on them.” You’ll notice that it’s not an indwelling of the Spirit, but a resting on. The use of the power of the Holy Spirit seems more temporary in the Old Testament than it does in the New Testament.

In the New Testament, we see a beautiful image of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove at His baptism (see Mark 1:10).

In Acts, we read that “what seemed to be tongues of fire” came and “rested on” the apostles. So we see the Old Testament terminology carry through to the New Testament, but it goes on to say in Acts 2:4 that “All of them were FILLED with the Holy Spirit…” (emphasis mine). They “began to speak in other tongues (languages) as the Spirit enabled them.”

I think the key phrase here is “as the Spirit enabled them.” The Holy Spirit is like an empowering agent of the Trinity. He is the One who enables and even compels us to do things.

One time I was on a plane from Costa Rica to Los Angeles and I was chatting away with the passenger next to me. For some reason, I was reluctant to tell him what I did for a living. Normally I told people quite readily.

Before long it was as if the Holy Spirit came up behind me and admonished me with a hearty clap on the back as if to make me spit out the words, “I’m a missionary.”

Now, I don’t have experiences like that all the time. I have maybe a handful or two of stories in my whole life where I firmly believe the Holy Spirit was behind (in) something I did or said. It was so clear that the idea I had, or the words I said, or the actions I took did not come from me, but from the Holy Spirit.

When I think about each of those instances, the common denominator was God’s will being accomplished. It was something He wanted to say to me or through me. It was something He wanted to teach me and/or someone else around me.

In a similar way, God used the Holy Spirit to send a life and culture-changing message through Peter to Cornelius in the book of Acts. Peter had just seen a vision and was wondering what it meant. God sent the Holy Spirit to help him understand:

¹⁷ While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. ¹⁸ They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.

¹⁹ While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three^[a] men are looking for you. ²⁰ So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” (Acts 10:17-20)

If you continue reading in chapter 10, it goes on to say, “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The Circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.” (Acts 10:41-45)

The Holy Spirit continues to be active in the lives of believers today, even if at times, you only hear silence.

Silence does not mean absence.

Silence does not mean idleness.

Our ability to see or feel the Holy Spirit at work isn’t necessarily about us being “spiritual enough,” but there is an element of us remaining faithful. When we are faithful to be in God’s Word, and faithful to live out God’s will for our lives, at some point along the way, we are going to see the Holy Spirit in action.

He works in us and through us, even in spite of us.

If you are longing to see and feel the Holy Spirit’s work in your life, ask Him. Ask Him to show Himself. Ask Him to open your eyes to see. And if it doesn’t happen right away, wait. Be faithful. Allow God to work in His timing and in His way for His glory.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the power and work of the Holy Spirit. Please comment below.

In the meantime, as we remain faithful, possibly in the midst of silence, let us go be radiant this week.