Some Christians appear satisfied with their relationship with God and with their spiritual growth. They may have received all they want from God. Maybe they simply want "fire insurance," a guarantee they won't spend eternity in hell. Or maybe God's promises of protection and provision are all that appeal to them.
They basically want to be in charge of their own lives and use their relationship with God to their advantage. When they receive the benefits they want, they're not interested in any greater commitment. They approach Christianity as a buffet dinner, where they can select the entrees that appeal to them and not have to eat their vegetables if they don't want to. They might view Christianity primarily as a collection of personal beliefs and practices, and they are willing to exchange some of their time and effort for the benefits they want. They are content.
Not every Christian fits this description, however, and many are discontented with themselves or their relationship with God. Maybe you have seen God intervene in someone's life or help them overcome a personal problem. You ask yourself why you don't see God doing more in your life. Why do you continue to struggle with your habits and personality quirks?
You have seen just enough of God's power or involvement in people's lives to want more for yourself. A desire gnaws at you, an appetite for more than what you are experiencing. "There has to be more," you tell yourself. "Why must I always be frustrated with myself, always struggling with these problems? Sometimes I feel so helpless."
This is a very common feeling, but the truth is that we are not helpless. God is with us in the form of the Holy Spirit and he wants to be actively involved in our lives.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
In his final hours as a man on earth, Jesus explained some very important topics to his disciples. He wanted to bring several years of teaching and ministry to a conclusion and emphasize the most important points. He washed their feet as if he were the lowest servant in a household, giving them a graphic example of how they were to serve each other. He predicted that one of them would betray him and that Peter would deny him. That he would be crucified but would come back from the dead. That he would go to heaven and represent them before the Father.
It was his last opportunity to prepare them for the future and you can be confident that what he said was important. During those parting remarks, he promised to send the Holy Spirit to be with them and help them.
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to 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 . . . All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you" (Jn 14:15-17, 25-26).
The Holy Spirit is also with Christians today and he performs the same service for us. He teaches us "all things" and he reminds us of Jesus' teaching, showing how it relates to us today. Later in the final discussion between Jesus and his disciples, he explained more of the Holy Spirit's role.
"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you" (Jn 16:12-14).
Again Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth and said he would guide us into all truth. The Holy Spirit reveals the Lord's possessions to us because they are ours by inheritance. So we see the Holy Spirit in the roles of teaching, revealing, guiding and counseling.
Jesus appeared to his disciples after his resurrection and again told them about the Holy Spirit. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Here we see the Holy Spirit providing us power to work in the Lord's behalf.
There are other scriptures that show us the impact the Holy Spirit has on our lives, but these are sufficient to bring us back to those persistent questions many of us have. "If God gives us so much power, then why do I feel so powerless? If the Holy Spirit teaches us everything and leads us into all truth, then why am I so confused about who I am and what I should do? Why do I have these irritating character traits that I can't do anything about? If God has all power and all authority and he lives in me, then why do I feel like such a failure?"
Consider a couple of analogies. You have a sports car with a 5.7 liter turbo-charged engine that has the power and the ability to get you anywhere quickly. But it obviously doesn't run automatically; it needs ignition keys and a driver. You are the driver in this analogy. What is your ignition key? How do you enable the Holy Spirit to accomplish his work in you?
Or what would it be like to have a personal computer, the fastest and most powerful PC available? It has the power and the ability to run any program you would ever want to run. But it doesn't run automatically; it needs an operator to start it up and run it. You are the operator in this analogy. How do you start it up? How do you allow the Holy Spirit to do his work in you?
The key is cooperation, working together. The Holy Spirit works in cooperation with you by guiding, revealing, teaching, counseling and so on. He does not coerce, overpower or enslave. You might say the Holy Spirit is like a gentleman, not a tyrant. As a result, he can teach you everything you need to know, continuously confirm God's love for you, give you extensive guidance, and fully equip you for every task. But you can still be ineffective and go nowhere. Your sports car does nothing if you don't turn the key and push the accelerator. Your computer does nothing if you don't turn it on and boot it up.
THE PROBLEM
Here we are, equipped with all the resources God gives us in addition to a personal tutor and counselor, and we can't even get started. What is the problem? In my opinion, the problem is an attitude.
It is true that we don't personally have what it takes to do God's work and that he has to provide what we need. It is true that our very best effort is nothing, compared to God's ability. It is true that we are dependent on him to show us what, when and how to do things and to give us the ability to do them.
It is also true, however, that we rely on work-saving devices, prepared foods, ready-to-wear clothes and automatic appliances. We want to do as little as necessary. We have become passive and accustomed to having our tough stuff done for us. Likewise, we are accustomed to enjoying the benefits of our relationship with God and relying on him to take care of our problems for us.
Most Christians appear stuck in this passive mode. We perform a few Christian rituals: attending church, blessing our meals. Some of us have expanded our list of rituals to include reading the Bible, teaching a class, leading worship or serving in a leadership position. Although we are "actively involved," we are still passive in our relationship with God. The solution to this passivity is not doing more "Christian activities" or giving everyone a job, because the problem is a passive attitude. We are passive in our relationships because we prefer to receive rather than give. How do we change our attitude and get into an active mode?
We believe there are two aspects of our spiritual development: salvation and filling with the Holy Spirit. We want to see God's power working in us and through us. Right? We know a person will not receive the Holy Spirit and experience God's power unless he is saved. Right? Then if God has saved us and we have his Spirit living in us, why do we experience so little of God's power? The problem is not with God's ability to save us. Nor is the problem God's inability to deliver what he promised. I believe the problem, that which limits God in our lives, is our attitude.
There is a very clear principle in scripture that we must prove ourselves faithful in small matters before God will entrust us with greater ones. In part, that means we must properly use what God has already given us before he will give us more. Maybe we need to examine our attitude toward salvation before we can expect to see God's power working in us to any greater degree.
Salvation involves acknowledging Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He is your Savior because he saved you from destruction and your Lord because he has authority over you. If you are like most Christians, you often call Jesus "Lord" but treat him mostly as Savior. Even if you are intensely grateful for what he has done for you, that may be the extent of your relationship with him. Now you find yourself dissatisfied with your life and spiritual progress.
Consider for a moment the dual themes of lordship and servitude. A lord is one who has power and authority over others. He is a ruler. By definition, a lord has servants. If you acknowledge Jesus as your Lord, then you automatically acknowledge yourself as his servant.
This article is a brief excerpt of a book chapter which addresses the following topics: