07/14/2018
You believe in God the Father, and have accepted His Son Jesus Christ as your Redeemer, and Savior, but have you come to the realization that there is another who now dwells within you? Deep inside, you have become the abode of the Holy Spirit, and perhaps you haven’t acknowledge His presence... but He is there and even though He helps you secretly, He wants to know you in an amazing way.
“"If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
John 14:15-18 ESV
If you search for books by the name “The Benefactor” you will discover that there are many. The idea, and the practice, of looking after someone without them being aware is an age old practice, and has been written about as subplots in classics, as well as in standalone novels and other books. The idea of helping someone without them bring aware, or being helped in this way ourselves, is exciting on the surface, and profoundly moving, and fulfilling, in its deepest recesses. There is something remarkable that happens when we help someone without expecting any reward in return. This is the idea behind secret prayer, and is also the root of the Holy Spirit in us.
“"Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Matthew 6:2-4 ESV
Even as we entertain the thought of helping others in unawares, our Father has been helping us, and indeed His Holy Spirit works within us to that end. Before I first came to know Jesus Christ I felt the draw of Him, and afterwards I could see the hand of God more clearly in my life. Suddenly I had been taken back a few steps and shown that there was more to my life than chance threads, and occurrences... there was a plan, and nowhere made more evident than in the words written in Jeremiah:
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV
But knowing there was a plan and accepting the occurrences in my life as being a part of them was just the surface swirling of a much deeper current. It was like seeing the small whirlpool left behind once a paddle had been taken from the water and the canoe had moved forward.... but that swirl is only indicative of the paddle and the one who wields it, and it is not until we choose to look up and see the paddle in the hands of God that we realize how it came to be.
The Holy Spirit begins in us like an unknown companion dipping the paddle into the water and propelling us forward. He is mysterious and silent like a secret benefactor, but if we come to see the evidence of Him, and begin to seek Him, then at that moment He will reveal Himself to us. In that moment of understanding we will see the paddle dipping into the water, and perhaps will be taken back a few more steps so that we can more fully see the tapestry that is our life, and the canoe of our faith.
Until we seek Him, and come to know Him, the Holy Spirit remains within us as a secret benefactor that helps us through life, and calls us to God, and Jesus. He is there, but remains unknown... He is mysterious and exciting, yet stands off in the distance, or sits far forward in our canoe of faith. For many, this is the extent of His involvement in their lives... He remains hidden, and continues to watch secretly over them. Perhaps to these Christians the excitement of the unknown is like a wrapped gift from an unknown admirer. Maybe they fear that in familiarity that excitement will be gone, or just maybe they are afraid that one or the other of them will be disappointed in the relationship, and its commitment. Neither of these scenarios could be further from the truth... knowing the Holy Spirit is like the most beautiful firework we have ever seen, that explodes into grandeur, and yet never fades, but hangs in the sky forever; thrilling us endlessly as if it had just exploded into the night sky. He joins Jesus there in the expanse that is God.
So He is there, and He secretly moves within our lives, and faith, to bring the will of God to light in our lives, but there is more, and to experience the more, we must know Jesus personally, obey the commandments, and seek the Holy Spirit in prayer... even as the disciples did while they waited for His arrival.
“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”
Acts 1:14 ESV
Are you happy having a secret benefactor who works the will of God in your life, or do you want to know Him, and meet Him face to face? Do you want to be surprised when He brings the Father’s gifts, or is your desire to bring Him into your prayer closet and pray jointly with Him for them? Are you Thomas who wasn’t in the upper room when the Spirit fell, or one of those who received the Holy Spirit like tongues of fire? The choice is yours, but never doubt that He is already within you.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit that resides within me, and the understanding He brings to me. Thank you Holy Father for His drawing me to you, and to Jesus Christ, and for the comfort He gives me now. With Him I am like a child wrapped in a warm blanket; I feel the warmth, and know the love that placed me upon it, and wrapped it tightly around me. I am swaddled within the Spirit, and rest in your arms. Thank you for the relationship I now have with you because of this gift; the Spirit quickens me, and gives me excitement as I come with Him before you, and brings me untold joy as I praise you in the manner that He has taught me. Praised be your name Holy Father, and blessed am I in your Son Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit that moves mightily within me. Whether in secret or in full relationship your Spirit is a gift beyond all measure, and brings us closer to you every day. Pour water from the blade of your paddle upon my head Father, and let it arouse me, and give me cause yo look up from the evidence of its swirl in my life, and to see you in all of your glory. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God of spiritual gifts; He who calls to me through the Holy Spirit, and thrills me in Himself to the limits of my ability to withstand without growing suddenly faint. He whose Son has redeemed me, and in whom I dwell. Praised be your name always, and throughout eternity.
Rich Forbes