I had a late-in-the-day quiet time. I can’t stand not having my time with the Lord. It isn’t something virtuous about me. Not at all. I wish I could take credit as being one who has “self-discipline” or something…but that isn’t it.
Fact is, it isn’t a discipline at all. He has placed in me a passion for His Word. That, and to sit and be still and know that He is God. Sometimes it isn’t quite so serene as that. Sometimes, I sit there rather intellectually (my best imitation of it, anyhow!) and scrutinize….or turn it all into a brain-only exercise. I hate it when I do that.
But the point is, God has placed in me a strong desire to know and study His Word…and I love doing it. So I hope no one thinks that I am boasting and bragging. It isn’t like that. I figure He knew that I needed extra doses of God-talk in my life and knew my heart would be prone to wander far afield. So he gave me this one gift…it helps my feet remain on the ground…most days.
Well, this morning, I didn’t start the day with my quiet time. One thing led to another and I was feeling so…well…empty. I knew I needed time with Him.
So just after I gave the horses their supplements (I am obsessive about my horses’ nutrition! Talk about ironic! LOL!) and just before I fed them their dinner, I sat down for an hour and did my Thin Within workbook and my Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself bible study.
I wanted to share something that struck so deep and so tender a chord in me….
Think with me about this. Scripture says we can grieve the Holy Spirit. According to Beth Moore’s LBY workbook on page 41, this word in the greek means “to afflict with sorrow, to cause grief, offend.” Beth goes on to say the following:
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The word implies that the third member of the Holy Trinity is able to feel pain. The Word of God cites only one causal agent of His pain: those He inhabits–the very ones who also are a source of His joy.
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Oh, my heart….this isn’t new to me, but it struck me with such a new intensity…the ache in my heart to know that so often I have grieved the Holy Spirit, the very one who has chosen to indwell me, to offer me the power, presence, provision of God in my life to defeat sin, to rise above all obstacles….to know that so often I have said no to the very lover of my soul…
Beth goes on to say on page 42:
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Sin in the life of the believer causes the Holy Spirit to grieve. Consequently, the Holy Spirit’s pain will not cease until we “get rid” of the sin….For the Spirit to be released from grief and to fuilfillment, every known sin must be the object of [my] repentance. Blanket prayers of forgiveness with no thought to the object of God’s disfavor are a waste of time. We cannot confess what we will not face. We must be specific.
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She goes on to say:
We cherish some sins; we treasure them. We do not want to let go of them; therefore, we admit to God we have committed them, but we lack the sorrow that would give us the strength to turn away…
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This reminded me of what Pastor Mike said a few weeks back about how we are sometimes willing to avoid sin, but we do that with our eye on it longingly…we are called to HATE sin. There is a big difference.
Lord, may I not grieve the Holy Spirit. May my life be given over completely to Your will and YOUR ways that I might live for You and that the HOLY Spirit might be totally at home in my life. Help me never to wink at sin while supposedly avoiding it. Instead, I pray you might cultivate in me a hatred for sin.
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
[We cherish some sins; we treasure them. We do not want to let go of them; therefore, we admit to God we have committed them, but we lack the sorrow that would give us the strength to turn away…]When we were doing this study, and I came across this passage, it hurt! Yeah, there *were* some “cherished sins” in my life, and right then and there I had to confess them. 😕 < Mizbooks