“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:25, NLT)
When we accept the life God has for us through a relationship with Jesus Christ, everything changes. The Holy Spirit begins to work in us to transform our lives. Without this work, there is no capacity for living a Son-powered life. The Holy Spirit is the game changer. He is the great enabler. It is he who generates in us the power to live the life God has planned for us. A relationship with Jesus is just the beginning, each one of us needs to be empowered by the Holy Spirit as well.
When Jesus was on earth, he told his disciples he needed to physically leave them in order for them to receive the Holy Spirit who would help them and teach them. John recorded this for us, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you” (John 14:26, NLT)
The Holy Spirit comes to live in the heart of every believer, “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Galatians 4:6, NLT). We are made alive by the Holy Spirit, and with him working in our lives we have a God-given desire to have a living relationship with the Father.
The Holy Spirit shows us that trusting in self-effort is a dead end. I like to think of self-effort as a dependence on my “three amigos.” The amigos are “Me, Myself and I.” We need to say goodbye to those friends and trust completely in Christ to live his life in us on a daily basis. Our human nature is totally rooted in self-effort and the fixation of our culture is on self-accomplishment. “Look at me, look at all I’ve done!”
A relationship with Jesus changes all of that. We realize that God has a plan for our lives and he will give us the strength to accomplish his purposes. The Holy Spirit is at work in and through us. It is his job to reveal things to us as we grow in our relationship with God. We rely on his strength. When that happens, the lights turn on, the engines rev up, the Son rises with power in our heart, and we begin to experience a life that is transformed. When we use our spiritual eyes, we can see the fingerprints of God all around us.
How does this happen? We have been identified with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection so that we can serve in the new life of the Spirit (see Romans 7:6). We have Christ, the power of God living inside of us! Our entire perspective is changed. We now focus on God’s desires and the Spirit’s power to accomplish his desires through us.
In what areas of your life do you tend to depend on the “three amigos” (me, myself and I)? What one step can you take to start allowing the Holy Spirit to empower you?
Son Power is generated by the Holy Spirit.