It is sad to realize that for a majority of Americans modern religion has come down to the simple question of whether or not one believes in God. Even many of the godless subscribe to some belief in some form of deity. There is a world of difference in believing in God, or believing there is a God; and believing God, or believing on God.
James 2:19 make for an interesting observation: “You believe that there is one God. Thou doest well. The devils also believe, and tremble.” Even the devil and his lot believe in God. They know. But they will never submit to his lordship and believe on him.
So we are faced with a choice of moving on from believing in God to believing on (or putting our full faith and trust in) God.
Paul and Silas charged the Philippian jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and your household.”
But after we move from believing in God to believing on God, in the salvation experience, there is still higher ground. Let us call it knowing God.
The third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, fails to receive much publicity these days. Maybe that’s because we as human beings are weirded out by that which we cannot see. Or maybe it’s because we are uncomfortable with the thought of “ghosts” and “spirits”.
The Apostle John wrote, “God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” There is that word “Spirit” again.
As Jesus approached his last days on earth he explained to his disciples, “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you.”
In yet another verse he spoke, “But the Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit (Ghost), whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things”, “guide you into all truth”, “He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.”
When it comes to understanding the working of the Holy Spirit, we do well to scratch the surface.
Oswald Chambers wrote, “As workers for God we have to learn to make room for God – to give God ‘elbow room’. Do not look for God to come in any particular way, but look for Him. This is the way to make room for Him. Expect Him to come, but do not expect Him in a certain way. However much we may know God, the great lesson to learn is that at any minute He may break in.”
In my prayer life as of late the Holy Spirit is creating within me a thirst for a deeper knowledge of God. I am being led into unfamiliar territory. It is kind of scary. But it is very exciting. I am embarrassed to say I am a novice when it comes to the subject of “being filled with the Spirit”. I’m not even sure I know what I am asking for. I’m just following His lead.
I have been wrestling with questions like: How will I know I’m making progress? Where is He taking me? Am I going about this the right way? Do I have the courage to go places I have never been? (spiritually speaking.)
Sometime back, while I was out on the walking trail, I came upon a most unusual sight. It was a whirlwind.
Now I’ve seen lots of whirlwinds in my life. Most were very small, not much larger than a five-gallon bucket. I’ve always found them fascinating.
But this one was different. It was at least five feet tall and just as wide. And its rotation was very slow. Its boundaries were defined by no more than 15-20 brown leaves scattered evenly within its grasp. The whirlwind moved slowly away from me. I suddenly felt an urge to run and jump into its middle. Then, I felt a strange sensation that I was standing on holy ground. I wanted to take off my shoes. It was then I recalled the words of Jesus to Nicodemus, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
Suddenly just as it approached a line of trees, the whirlwind let go of the leaves and was gone.
And in those moments, I was given to understand I am not supposed to understand the working of the Holy Spirit. I am to simply trust his leading.
This thing about God and the Holy Spirit is much, much bigger than they have been telling us.
Copyright 2024 by Jack McCall
