The Spirit

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Romans 8:11

Have you ever felt stuck? You have known what to do but just couldn’t seem to get it done? Maybe you’ve felt that way with various projects in the past or maybe even in life in general. There may even be times when you feel like you are stuck in your relationship with God and that you have just been unable to overcome the sin in your life or the other obstacles in your way. So, what are we supposed to do when it seems we just lake the strength to move forward?

Paul tells us in Romans 8 that we have this amazing asset as a result of coming to faith in Jesus Christ – the Holy Spirit. Just before Jesus died on the cross He told His disciples that when He left them He wouldn’t leave them alone, that He would send them a helper. Then, again, at His ascension in Acts 1 He told the disciples to wait for this helper, the Holy Spirit who would come and fill them with amazing power. That happened a few days later, on the day of Pentecost.

Romans 8 reminds us that this new life we have received in Jesus is not meant to be lived alone or in our own strength. We find ourselves getting stuck because we often try to move forward in our own strength and abilities. We are only able to get ourselves so far, before we need a little help. God has provided that for us in His Spirit. Once we come to know Jesus personally we are all filled with Him. 

The Spirit of God fills our hearts and gives us the assurance and confidence that maybe we didn’t have before. He even works in and through our weaknesses. Paul’s example in this chapter is that He is praying for us when we don’t know what to pray or how to pray. The point is the Holy Spirit is doing for us things we don’t have the strength to do alone.

Paul describes this power that is available to us as the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Now, that is some pretty amazing power. IT is life giving power! So, if you are feeling stuck or lifeless – take advantage of the strength that lies within you. Lean into the Holy Spirit who is ready and waiting for you to just let Him do what He does best – strengthen you in your weakness, assure you of God’s presence, and free you from a life of sin and death!

​Pastor Matt