Gems of Knowledge

Today’s One Year Bible Verses: Song of Songs 1:1–4:16, 2 Corinthians 8:16–24, Psalm 50:1–23, Proverbs 22:22–23

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I have had my iPhone for over two years and just discovered it does things I would have never dreamed it could do. I use the common features every day, but really don’t know what it is fully capable of.

The Holy Spirit whispered to me that it is the same with Him.

We know about Him. We believe He lives within us. We may ask Him to comfort us, guide us, or help us make decisions. But do we really understand the magnitude of the gift God has given us?

Today the Holy Spirit whispered this Gem of Knowledge to me,

“Don’t you realize the greatness of the gift I have given you—My Holy Spirit? It is power over heaven and earth—My power—the power of God. You don’t use it because you doubt. Stop doubting and believe. I give it to all My children freely when they choose Me. Amen.”

Wow! That’s quite a statement.

The Holy Spirit isn’t simply a comforting presence God sends when we’re having a difficult day. He is God with us and God within us. Jesus told His disciples that it was actually better for Him to go away because then the Holy Spirit would come to them (John 16:7). Imagine hearing that while standing beside Jesus! How could anything possibly be better than having Jesus physically walking beside you?

Yet Jesus knew what they were about to receive.

Before He ascended to heaven, He told His followers, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you” (Acts 1:8 NLT). The Greek word translated power is dynamis—power, strength, and ability. This wasn’t merely encouragement to try harder or become better people. God was giving His people His Spirit so that they could accomplish what they could never accomplish on their own.

We see it throughout Acts. Ordinary people suddenly spoke with boldness. They received wisdom they didn’t naturally possess. They prayed and people were healed. Miracles happened. The Gospel spread across cities and nations. People were delivered, lives were transformed, and frightened disciples became courageous witnesses for Jesus.

The power didn’t come from them.

It came from the Holy Spirit.

And He hasn’t changed.

Yet I think many of us live as though everything still depends upon our own ability. We encounter something impossible and immediately calculate what we can do. We pray for someone while secretly wondering whether anything will actually happen. We sense the Holy Spirit prompting us but hesitate because we’re afraid we might be wrong. We read what happened through believers in Scripture and somehow convince ourselves that those things belonged to extraordinary Christians in another time.

But Jesus didn’t say the Holy Spirit was only for a select few.

Peter told the crowd at Pentecost, “You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God” (Acts 2:38–39 NLT).

What an incredible gift we’ve been given.

Today’s Psalm gives us a glimpse of the greatness of the God whose Spirit lives within us. Psalm 50 describes God calling to the heavens above and the earth below. He owns every animal of the forest and the cattle on a thousand hills. The entire world and everything in it belongs to Him.

That is the God whose Spirit dwells within His people!

That doesn’t mean we become God or that His power becomes ours to command however we want. The Holy Spirit isn’t a supernatural tool we control. We belong to Him. His power operates according to His will and for His purposes. But perhaps we’ve become so afraid of getting that wrong that we’ve gone to the opposite extreme and expect very little from Him at all.

Faith requires us to leave room for God to actually be God.

Maybe the question isn’t, “Do I have enough power?”

Maybe it’s, “Do I believe the Holy Spirit does?”

There may be things God wants to do through you that you could never accomplish by yourself. There may be someone He wants you to pray for, words He wants you to speak, something He wants you to discern, or an act of obedience that feels far beyond your ability. When that happens, don’t immediately measure the assignment against yourself.

Remember Who lives within you.

We don’t need to manufacture His power. We don’t need to pretend to have faith when we’re struggling with doubt either.

We can bring that doubt directly to God and ask Him to teach us to believe. Faith grows as we step out, listen, obey, pray, and discover through experience that God really is who He says He is.

The Holy Spirit is not a small gift.

He is the presence of the living God within His people.

Perhaps it’s time we stop living as though we’re on our own and begin discovering what life looks like when we truly believe that. 💎

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Action (5 Minutes with God)

Take 5 simple minutes to be with the Lord today. Ask Him:

• “Lord, what do You want me to know about this personally?”
  • Journal what He gives you through His Holy Spirit.
• Then ask, “What do You want me to do?”
  • Journal what He reveals – then do it!

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to remove all doubt and allow the Holy Spirit to fill you like never before.

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Prayer

Dear Lord, forgive me for the times I have underestimated the incredible gift of Your Holy Spirit. I don’t want to live as though everything depends upon my own strength and ability. Teach me to recognize Your Spirit, trust Your leading, and believe that Your power is still real and active today. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Help me surrender my doubts to You and give me courage to obey. Holy Spirit, teach me how to walk with You and allow Your power to work through my life according to Your will and for Your glory. In Jesus’ mighty name I pray, amen.

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