My Best Friend, Holy Spirit
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Today's inspiration comes from:
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Today's inspiration comes from:
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The Day the Holy Spirit Became Holy Spirit
My husband had grown up in church, but he never truly understood the personal relationship that was available with the Holy Spirit. He became a committed Christian just before his nineteenth birthday, and after a few years of being involved in our youth group, he was employed as the creative worship director. He had given his life to passionately serving the church and felt that he had developed a strong relationship with God.
In the winter of 1999, we had an unusually powerful youth camp. In fact, we kept the meetings going every night for six weeks after the camp weekend was over because God was moving in such powerful ways. Each night, the presence of God was tangible, thick in the room like a holy weight you could feel in your bones. Revival had broken out among our young adults.
Tears fell, chains broke, and lives were being transformed night after night. It feels impossible to adequately describe the radical life change we were witnessing.
One night, after one of those gatherings had ended, a friend came running over to Henry. He had experienced something that totally changed the way he personally related to God. When he was a young boy, his father walked out on their family. This loss created a void in his heart that made it difficult for him to relate to God intimately as a father. Despite believing in God, he struggled to experience his heavenly Father’s love because his earthly father’s love toward him had been so broken.
But this night, a revelation and spiritual transformation happened. He understood that God, through the Holy Spirit, could be everything his father hadn’t been, and so much more. He told Henry that he felt the loving arms of God wrap around him like a Father who loves his son unconditionally and unequivocally.
Years of abandonment issues and fears of rejection left his body. He finally understood what Jesus meant when He said He would send the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter, Advocate, and the One who would always be there for us. It was a profound moment for our friend that changed his life.
As Henry drove home later that night, after witnessing the breakthrough that just happened to his friend, he asked God why he’d never had experiences like that. He knew about God, but he longed to know God — profoundly, personally, and intimately. As soon as his lips uttered that prayer, he had the strangest sensation that someone else was in the car with him. He recalled that it felt like the same feeling you get when you’re not facing the door, but know someone has just walked into the room. He glanced over to the passenger’s seat, but no one was there. He fastened his eyes on the road again but still felt as if someone was physically in the car with him.
It wasn’t long before he realized that God was helping him understand something more about Himself — something Henry had never understood before. Henry had always felt that “the Holy Spirit” was some mystical, out-there kind of force that did miraculous things in our lives but couldn’t relate to him personally. As he sat there in his old white, beat- up panel van, the Holy Spirit began to converse with him in his heart. Through this inner voice, the Holy Spirit began to explain that He wasn’t just a far- out- there, distant force. He was a person, and He wanted to be Henry’s friend. The kind of friend he could turn to when everyone else let him down. The One who would be there to encourage him and spur him on when he needed it. The One who would be like Jesus walking alongside him, as if in the flesh.
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I could tangibly feel the presence of God. It was as if God Himself was standing before me, right next to my husband.
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I could tangibly feel the presence of God. It was as if God Himself was standing before me, right next to my husband.
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Henry was puzzled at first and didn’t know how to respond. So he said to the Holy Spirit, “I understand. You want to be my friend. But what do I say to You?”
He replied, Ask Me how I am.
“Ask You how You are?” Henry replied hesitantly.
Yes, He affirmed. Ask Me how I am.
So, he did. It felt as though a real person was sitting in the passenger seat, and they began to talk like two friends having a chat over a coffee, just hanging out together. He told Henry not to refer to Him as the Holy Spirit but to simply call Him Holy Spirit like it was His name— so Henry could begin to see Him as a person rather than some mysterious force. The entire drive home, they talked and talked like old friends who never got tired of each other.
As he approached our house, Holy Spirit asked him to do something that felt particularly strange. He asked him to walk up to the front door, knock, and wait for me to answer. When I answered the door, I saw Henry standing in front of me, smiling, with his arm wrapped tightly around an invisible person. Right there on our front porch, he began to introduce Holy Spirit to me. He told me that from now on, Holy Spirit was going to come and live in our home. He would be a part of our lives and the first person we would call on when we needed answers, guidance, or strength.
I will never forget how I felt in that moment. I could tangibly feel the presence of God. It was as if God Himself was standing before me, right next to my husband. I immediately began to weep as I stood in the doorway. After they came inside, we both walked down the hallway with our arms interlinked, our invisible God beside us. That night, we prayed and wept, acknowledging that whatever decision needed to be made, or whatever problem we would face, we would include Holy Spirit as our Counselor every time. I know this sounds crazy— and believe me, we felt crazy! But that night something changed in our household forever. Even now, twenty- six years later, one of the hallmarks of our home is that every person who walks through our doors says they sense the tangible presence of God.
Henry’s life changed forever that night. His life and his relationship with God have been different ever since, because Henry finally understood what Jesus was talking about in the book of John. Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth who will be a friend to you, just as Jesus was to His disciples here on earth. The best part is that He will never leave you nor forsake you!
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. — John 14:16–17
Holy Spirit wants to be your closest friend, your go-to confidant, and your Divine Counselor. As we move into the next chapter, you will see evidence in Scripture that proves He is a real person. This will help you demystify Him as a force and recognize Him as someone who is longing to have a relationship with you. As we continue this journey together, you will discover how He will guide you into all truth and give you the answers that you’re so desperately seeking. Through His help, you will be able to navigate this life with supernatural wisdom and live in perfect harmony with God Himself.
Will you spend some time right now asking Him to reveal Himself to you so that you can begin this journey of having the Spirit of God with you every day of your life?
Prayer
Holy Spirit, I am sorry that I never saw You as a person and found it hard to relate to You. I desire to know You this way and I am asking You to make Yourself known to me. I long to know You as a friend. Help me understand who You are and help me develop a relationship with You. I welcome You into every part of my life. Show me Your ways, and guide me in all truth, every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Do you call Him Holy Spirit? Step out in faith today; lean in on Him as your best friend. He longs to be your Divine Counselor! ~ Devotionals Daily
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Renew Your Mind, Heal Your Soul, and Discover Your Purpose Through the Guidance of the Holy Spirit
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Pastor Alex Seeley, co-founder of The Belonging Co., reveals how the Holy Spirit provides the deep healing, peace, and purpose beyond what therapy alone can provide.
At a time when many feel anxious and discouraged, the idea of living whole, healed, and empowered sounds wonderful--but often out of reach. Counseling, self-help books, and podcasts seem to offer temporary relief, but what about life-changing transformation?
In The Divine Counselor, Pastor Alex Seeley introduces readers to the best therapist they'll ever meet: the Holy Spirit. Drawing on biblical insights and personal stories, Alex endeavors to answer readers' deepest questions and doubts, while showing how the Holy Spirit . . .
- advocates on their behalf, interceding when they don't have the words to pray;
- guides them toward healing, connecting spiritual health and emotional wellness;
- helps them change mind-sets, to bring freedom from destructive labels and past experiences;
- speaks with clarity and wisdom, helping believers discern His voice from their own; and
- equips them to live in victory, empowering them to overcome.
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