Seed Thoughts Feb./Mar. 2014

"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a
sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be Like
a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
-Isaiah 58:11 (NIV)

I enjoy getting up each morning listening to praise and worship music, spending time with God, and receiving His instructions as I get ready in the natural. I was carrying on my daily routine recently when I was abruptly interrupted. Just as I finished putting on my makeup, the lights in our house flickered and went off. That wasn't unusual, and at first it didn't alarm me. "They will come on quickly," I thought. But after waiting five minutes in the dark, I realized this wasn't just a flicker; it was a power outage.

I had to teach a class at Rhema in less than an hour, and I still had to comb my hair, brush my teeth, and so forth. It was a cloudy day, so there was no sunlight to navigate by. As I meditated on how I would finish getting ready, I began to realize the power outage had affected other things.

Our house has well water, and the pump runs on electricity. Therefore, I had no water. My car was in the garage, and the garage door had an electric opener. The gate by the street operates electrically, so I was unable to get out of our driveway. My husband had already gone to work, so he could not help me manually operate these things.

My first thought was to panic. I was clueless as to how to deal with this issue. My next thought was to say, "Let there be electricity!" I expected it to appear suddenly, but it didn't. So I had to come up with some solutions quickly to meet my obligations. I frantically called a staff member to help me get the garage and the gate open. I then found flashlights to hold up to a mirror while I combed my hair. I brushed my teeth with bottled water and was on my way to class with a few minutes to spare. On the drive to the campus, I said to God, "There has to be an illustration I can get from all of this inconvenience. Tell me what it is."

Suddenly the words began flowing. He said, "The functions of the Holy Spirit in your life can be likened to electricity. Electricity produces power, just as the gift of the Holy Spirit produces power in lives." I began to recall Jesus' instructions to His disciples before He left this earth. He said, "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you" (John 14:16–17 NLT).

Then in Acts Jesus gave the disciples more specific instructions concerning the Holy Spirit: "Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, 'Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit' " (Acts 1:4–5 NLT).

Then in Acts 1:8 we read, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (NLT).

The disciples did as Jesus instructed. They stayed in Jerusalem, united in prayer, waiting for the Holy Spirit. They didn't know how long it would be before He came. But they waited faithfully and patiently. In our culture we want everything now! Our microwave ovens, computers, and phone devices become too slow for us, so we trade them in for newer models.

But look what the disciples' waiting produced: "Suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind. . . . And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire. . . . And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:2–4). Each of them was transformed to declare the Gospel of the Lord Jesus with boldness as never before.

Have you allowed the electricity of the Holy Spirit to stop flowing in your life? I encourage you to renew that power gift. Practice praying in the Spirit each day. Ephesians 6:18 (NLT) instructs us to "pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion." If you have never received the gift of the Holy Spirit, I encourage you to do so. Oh, it will make such a difference in your life!

To learn more about the power of the Holy Spirit, check out these books by Kenneth E. Hagin.