Spirit-Filled LifeSample
The Holy Spirit helped Jesus to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He helped Jesus to endure suffering in obedience to the Father. He is able to help us endure the sufferings we face as a result of following the will of God.
The Bible deals more with the how of suffering rather than the why of suffering. It teaches us more about how we should suffer instead of why we are suffering.
It inspires courage in believers to suffer with joy, because Jesus is our ultimate Victor, and the Holy Spirit is our Helper. Having joy in our suffering comes as a shock to us because our culture is built on pursuing happiness.
Joy is based on the presence of the Holy Spirit, while happiness is an emotion based on what’s happening to us. Jesus, who was fully God but also fully man and filled with the Holy Spirit, endured extreme suffering. But, He didn’t go through this pain and rejection alone. He had the help of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is called our Comforter. We truly discover the Comforter when we go through rejection, persecution, attacks, suffering, and even poverty for the sake of the gospel. Those who want to please God must be more addicted to the Comforter than they are attached to their comforts. A life of following God’s call will take us through valleys, prisons, dry pits, fiery furnaces, storms, shipwrecks, and crosses. We should not seek suffering but rather surrender to God’s will.
The Holy Spirit who helped Jesus get through the cross also raised Him from the dead. This is encouraging, not just because we can endure our spiritual crosses with the Comforter, but also knowing He will bring us through to the other side. He who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us. He is able to do the same for us by bringing spiritual revival; a mighty renewal that will follow the cross-seasons of our life.
Crucifixion led to the resurrection. When we walk with the Holy Spirit through the garden of Gethsemane where our will takes second place to God’s will, He will bring us to the resurrection.
If the Holy Spirit helped Jesus through the cross, He will help you. If He raised Jesus, He will raise you to a new level in life.
Let’s pray:
Father, help me to live as Jesus lived despite what my current state looks like or may look like.
About this Plan
Jesus was filled, led, and empowered by the Spirit. At His ascension, He prayed to the Father that His followers would have the same power available to them by depending on the Holy Spirit. We are called to pick up our cross and follow Him, but we can’t do that unless we rely on the Holy Spirit the same way He did. Find out more in Spirit-Filled Jesus.
More