“You could read volumes on the work of the Holy Spirit,
when five minutes of total, uncompromising obedience would make things
as clear as sunlight.�— Oswald Chambers
Sometimes I think my interaction with Holy Spirit is like being a football fan versus a football player.
One of the reasons I love autumn so much is
because it is football season. I have never even been to a professional
football game but I have spent countless hours jumping up and down,
yelling at refs that couldn’t hear me and telling players how they are
doing. I watch intently and listen to the play-by-plays. I compliment
and criticize. When it is all over, if my team won, I gloat and revel in
the victory.
Sometimes I stand in the crowd when Holy
Spirit is working and I jump up and down, get excited, or scream and
shout. Other times I step back and analyze, like giving a play-by-play I
take in all that is happening so I can adequately tell the story later
or so I can critique it all in my effort to understand what is really
going on. I watch and listen, compliment and criticize. When it is all
over, I rejoice with others around me.
The problem?
In both scenarios I am nothing but a
spectator, standing on the sidelines. Close to all the action,
surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells but still at a distance,
safe, not really involved.
I am also a visual tactile learner, meaning
I have to see it AND do it or get my hands on it for it to make sense
or for it to stick. I can read the directions to a game all day long but
if I don’t actually get in the middle of it I never really understand
and it is never any fun.
There is a huge d
ifference between cheering
in the stands and being in the game, getting tackled, bruised, and hit.
The playing field can be brutal. It is challenging. Things don’t always
go the way you planned. But it is also exciting. There is reward for
the suffering and there is a special bond between those who are on the
field. In the end, the victory really means something because you were
part of it.
What’s my point?
I can study, seek out,
analyze and hang around places where the Spirit is moving, but if I
don’t step out in obedience to what He has already revealed I will
always just be on the sidelines cheering. I don’t know about you but I’m
tired of living on the sidelines. I don’t want to just read about
miracles, I want to be one of the ones praying for them and seeing them
become reality. I don’t want to just cheer on people who are bringing
the Kingdom to earth, I want to be part of bringing Kingdom to earth.
