Effervescence: ef·fer·ves·cence, adj.: the rapid escape of bubbles from a liquid : the proprety of forming bubbles : the action or process of effervescing.
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A few weeks ago, Lori and I traveled to Georgia (the country, not the state) to join Sarah and her team for a few days. This is our second time attending what’s called PVT – Parent Vision Trip – which is a week in Month 7 or 8 where parents are invited to join their racers on the field. We last attended in 2018, joining Kim and her team in Rwanda; this time, we headed out to see Sarah in Georgia. This is the first country that ever gave me a bottle of wine at passport control! It came right after a big welcome sign that said “Guests are a gift from God”.
Lori and I both enjoy skiing, so we had decided to come early and head up to Gudauri Resort for a few days on the slopes. Unfortunately, our time there was cut short by a wicked headache and 2 days of high fever. Lori tried to parasail on the last day, but the weather wasn’t good enough. She impressed me once again with her interest to go do something new (and a little intimidating, even) without me.
After that we came back down to Tbilisi to join Sarah. I was both reminded of and stretched in my experience of the Holy Spirit. On the first day of teaching, John talked about “Ask the Lord” (or as the Racers call it, ATL) as an approach for determining what to do for ministry. This was mainly seeking guidance from God the Holy Spirit. He also spoke to The Race’s unofficial motto: “Life is ministry and ministry is life”. This was just the beginning of four days focused on understanding how the racers (and, by extension, we) live that out.
Here is what I got out of it: the Lord wants me to interact with the Holy Spirit in new ways. In the past I have been very big on a cart-and-horse model between what we think and feel. If we align our minds with Truth it will change how we feel, and vice versa: often our feelings are symptomatic of “stinking thinking”.
I still adhere to this model. I even go so far as to believe we cannot separate what we think from what we feel, and the opposite––we cannot separate what we feel from what we think. Often, we are just blind to the connection. Thinking based on God’s Truth leads to healthy emotions, and unhealthy emotions can be a sign that our thinking is not based on God’s Truth.
But now I see an addition to this model: what if the Spirit is intended to be the helper/horse that leads us into God’s Truth?
Jesus proclaims that a time is coming when we worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). As an evangelical, however, I think I focus so much on “truth” that I weaken the “and”. I am to walk by the Spirit (Gal 5, Rom 8), but often rely on my own willpower to achieve the list of good fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
But what if I was really interacting with the Spirit in a new way?
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Maalik, a former Muslim with a Pauline conversion story, had a lot of zeal and a calling to reach Persia for Jesus. His testimony was compelling. He pursued knowing Allah and was even chosen as a body guard for a high-ranking ayatollah, only to be disillusioned by the lies he saw around him. Maalik cried out to God, and Jesus himself walked through the wall of his house and shone His Light on Maalik. He was terrified and immediately confessed all his sins.
Jesus only said one thing to him: “I love you”. Maalik was changed.
When Maalik began to preach to us, he started off by exclaiming that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit – a Spirit of Light – a Spirit of LIGHT – A SPIRIT OF LIGHT! How in touch am I with this: this Sprit that is in my body, which is now a temple?
And how do I become more led by the Spirit? I think I need to seek it daily in the name of Jesus. I need to take time daily to ask the Lord to direct me, trust that He will, and share when He does.
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I was nudged out of my comfort zone by an exercise we did. We were asked to listen to the Lord through the Holy Spirit and ask God if there was any word or thought to write on a piece of paper with someone’s name on it in our group. The names were hidden under some folds of the paper. We did this 5 times as we prayed and passed the papers.
At first, my mind and heart were empty. Ok, another one of those uncomfortable times with the more ‘Spirit-filled” types, I thought.
But then some scriptural phrases from recent study in Ephesians came to mind. The Bible is written for everyone. I can authentically write these phrases down.
Then phrases came from other passages. On the third of the papers, which were always handed to me face-down, I took a moment to read the other inputs after writing what was on my heart. I was astonished by how similarly-themed they were. By the end, I can tell you that I was sensing the Holy Spirit in me, directing me which passages to write. I have had similar experiences in the past when reading scripture, preparing/teaching a lesson, being impacted by a sermon, or breaking down during a worship song that spoke my heart to Him.
I have been skeptical of what I would call “conjurors” who seem to turn the filling of the Spirit on and off. But my witness today is that God longs for us to humbly approach the throne of grace as a result of both the Spirit that is in us and what Jesus has done for us. He longs for us to get on the same frequency and send and receive His love.
For me, simply, the Holy Spirit resides and works in the people of God. He really gets to work when we seek Him and let Him lead us to the Father through the Son. Walkie-talkies will never connect if they are on different frequencies. My charge is to tune into the Holy Spirit channel so I can be led into the Truth and the good works He has for me
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The Lord has been working in my heart lately on worship and what He has for me through it, so I was excited to hear that the team’s new favorite song was “Holy Water” by We the Kingdom. I had been listening to it long before going to Georgia.
The last verse says: I don’t wanna abuse Your grace / God, I need it every day / It’s the only thing that ever really makes me wanna change. This comes after the song leads your heart through thirsting after God, remembering the sweetness of his forgiveness and its cleansing power.
The line, “It’s the only thing that ever really makes me wanna change” has meant so much to me. It clarifies how I have struggled over the years and what really leads to change.
My church would say we live a life of thanks-driven obedience. But as my obedience wavered, I have always heard a thread of guilt. You are not thankful enough; you need to write a thank-you-note, like that guilt-driven parental request at Christmas time. But the encounter with Grace described in the song leads to an effervescent response. I want to follow His good path; it’s the only thing that ever really makes me want to change. It does not start with “I owe it to God…”. There is no time for a cerebral response. A true grace encounter is conducted spiritually through our brain and emotions simultaenously.
Spirit –> Thoughts/Emotions –> Change
Effervescence is the rapid escape of a gas from a liquid. When you open His bottle of Grace, the desire to be made new bubbles forth. There is no willing it into place. The task is to seek His presence.
(I want to add that I believe the Spirit does not lead contrary to Scripture! Scripture is the helm and rudder that guides our journey in seeking to live in His presence.)
So I don’t know if this all makes sense to anyone else. Seek to let the Light/Holy Spirit in you shine. Ask the Lord and listen for His voice. Take time to get into and seek His presence – whatever that looks like for you: worship music, hiking, reading scripture. His gracious presence alone authentically transforms us, and as we are transformed, others see it and the gospel goes forward.
Holy Water
God, I’m on my knees again
God, I’m begging please again
I need You
Oh, I need You
Walking down these desert roads
Water for my thirsty soul
I need You
Oh, I need You
Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey on my lips
Like the sound of a symphony to my ears
It’s like holy water on my skin
Dead man walking, slave to sin
I wanna know about being born again
I need You
Oh, God, I need You
So, take me to the riverside
Take me under, baptize
I need You
Oh, God, I need You
I don’t wanna abuse Your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change
