I
remember the day someone said to me: “When are you going to resign from the
Trinity?” In essence the person was
trying to remind me that I don’t have to be responsible for the work of the
Holy Spirit. God has everything under
control and He doesn’t need my help.
There is nothing I have to add to His work. There is nothing He needs from me. I can learn to let go and let God be in
charge.
Sounds
obvious, doesn’t it? But how easy it is
for us believers to try to take on God’s work…the Holy Spirit’s work. How many times have we tried to convict
people of their sins? How many times have we believed it was up to us to
convert people? How many times have we
tried to change others because we can see the error of their ways? How many times have we tried to compel people
to serve God and do work for God’s Kingdom?
As
an editor I continue to get many articles written by good Christian believers
who try to use their writing to convict others.
They point fingers and tell others how to live and act. One can feel the urgency in their writing,
but it often turns people away from the Lord rather than to Him. Why? I
believe it comes down to trying to do the Holy Spirit’s job.
I
believe that the work of the Holy Spirit is to CONVICT, CONVERT, CHANGE and
COMPEL people. He is an expert at these things.
Jesus has shared with us in John 16 that the Holy Spirit has been sent
to teach us, counsel us and lead us. “When
he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness
and judgment…when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” John 16:8,13
He
doesn’t need our help!
Oh, but He does allow us to join Him in His work. We’ve all been amazed at how God uses us when we surrender to His will. We just happen to call someone at the right time! We just happen to show up at the grocery store, the gas station, the post office at the right time to meet someone God wants us to meet! We just happen to sense a need to pray for someone when they need it! We give the donation at the right time. We send the letter and it arrives on the right day.
In reality, we don’t have to do the work of the Holy Spirit, but it is really fun to watch Him at work all around us. We don’t have to try so hard to convince someone…just let the Holy Spirit work and get out of His way. Our job is to care, pray, and listen to the Holy Spirit