I do know what my problem has been. Bottom line is I don't like being still or silent. I am a "doer". I like to stay busy. I justify that by staying busy "doing for the Lord", but what I realize is that I have been so busy doing that I haven't really spent quality intimate time with the Lord. As I type that I start thinking "now wait a minute, yes you have". Sure He and I have had our "moments", but if I honestly look at my life, it is not a daily time or even an intentional time.
I have been involved in numerous Bible Studies over the years, and I have learned a lot from them. But most of the time my time doing those studies, was just that "time" spent filling in the blanks so that if I got called on, I would have an answer. Rare are the times when I have prayed "Lord, please show me what you would have be learn from this study" or "Lord, please speak to me through this study".
Then there is my prayer life. Sporadic at best and most often it is "my wish list", "God, please do this and please do that". Not very often has it been a dialogue where I sit and listen for what God would like to say to me.
Then there are all those activities I mentioned. I get involved and "do" whatever and then maybe I ask the Lord to bless it. Not often do I stop and ask God if I should do this in the first place and then ask Him "Lord, what would you like to teach me as I do this OR what would you like to do through me as I do this?"
I just ordered a book Jesus Calling in which the author Sarah Young wrote down what she heard the Lord speaking to her into a 365 day devotional book. I am eager to see what the Lord said to Sarah. But I am also becoming more and more eager to see what the Lord has to say to Lynn if she would just shut out the noise and stop and listen for awhile.
So I thought if I blogged about it, it would make me accountable. For the next few weeks I want to just write about some of the things God is saying to me and teaching me about Himself as the Holy Spirit. The crazy thing is I have been asked to teach a group of Ladies on this subject for the next two weeks!!! Right up front I will have to confess that I am teaching what I do not know, but what I hope to know.
If you are a reader of my blog and you have a testimony about your life with the Holy Spirit, I would love to hear about it! For some reason I am also finding that out....that for some reason we are pretty quiet in sharing with each other our own experiences with the Holy Spirit. Not sure why that is, but hopefully we can encourage one another more in that area as well.
So for now just let me end with this
2 Peter 1: 3-10
"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."
