Sure, I signed up for an 11-month mission trip and left my family and friends for the year. But lately, God has placed this question on my heart. In my day to day life, how am I different?
As Christians, we believe that we are filled with the Holy Spirit- that the Lord has placed His Spirit in us. Yet, if the Lord’s Spirit is in us, shouldn’t our lives look extremely different from people who don’t believe in Christ? In Neil Anderson’s book Victory Over the Darkness, he describes three types of people: the natural person, the spiritual person, and the …
One reason this has come up here in Ethiopia is what I saw at church, on the first Sunday I was here. We went to a Pentecostal Ethiopian church in the village we are living in. When we walked into the service people were praying, some kneeling on the ground. At one point the lady in front of me was shouting Hallelujah so loud and passionately that she was actually shaking. A little later a man was so overcome by the Holy Spirit that he fell on the ground, twisting and turning. Most of us weren’t exactly sure what was happening, and some of us were surprised to later be told that all of this was the Holy Spirit filling people.
Aren’t we always filled with the Holy Spirit? Were evil spirits involved? On and on, the questions came as we debriefed our experience at the church. And while no one had all the answers, none of us could deny that the Spirit was at work in that church (and our translators couldn’t help but rave about the awesome message that had been given).
It just so happens that I have been reading Francis Chan’s book Forgotten God- go read it if you haven’t! In the introduction he says this: “I believe that the Spirit is more obviously active in places where people are desperate for Him, humbled before Him, and not distracted by their pursuit of wealth or comforts.”
From what I have experienced so far on the race, this is so completely true. You walk into one of these churches here in Africa, where people have so little they literally rely on Him to meet their daily needs or they have experienced such atrocities that they are just completely desperate for His love, and the Spirit is very obviously active and at work.
This week, God has really challenged me to look at the Holy Spirit’s power in my own life. Part of my team’s memory verse last month was Galations 5:20 “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” Shouldn’t these be evident in my daily life, through my words and actions, all the time? Obviously none of us are perfect, but I believe Francis Chan is correct in that too many of us have forgotten about this very important part of the trinity, the Spirit living in each of us!
So here is my challenge, both to fellow Christians and myself: How are you different? How is the Holy Spirit in you evident in your words and actions? I challenge you to think about this and pray that people would see the Holy Spirit in you. After all, if we really believe all that the Bible says, then the church around the world should be known for its love and joy.
