In my thoughts about what to write this blog post about, various topics went through my mind: self-improvement, the leading of the Holy Spirit, denominational differences, life goals – but one topic, living by faith, stuck out to me. Why?
“Living by faith” is a phrase I hear tossed around quite often by Christians, but what does it really mean? This is something I have been forced to struggle with recently as I attempt to live by faith. Romans 7:6 tells us that “…now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (NIV) As Christians, we are called out of being slaves to sin – what once bound us – and are now called to serve in the new way of the Spirit. Thus, our faith in the Holy Spirit encourages, invigorates, and motivates us to live – to serve our God.
This particular mindset has been on my mind as I read through Romans and pray that the Lord would “give me the faith necessary and empower the Holy Spirit within me to be productive today.” However, when I pray that the Lord would “give me the faith necessary,” what assumption am I making? I’m assuming that I don’t already have that faith. To live by faith is to live with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is within me. Am I lacking faith when I ask God to give me the faith necessary?
Instead of asking God to “give me the faith necessary,” I should understand that He has already given me that faith, and I should act upon it, not quenching the Holy Spirit, but acting upon my faith, allowing the Holy Spirit to pour Himself out within my life and to allow my light within to shine bright for Him.
This is where the self-discipline for acting upon the Holy Spirit comes in. The Holy Spirit urges and lives within me. It is my free will, my choice to act. To quench the Spirit is a sin. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 is clear: “Do not quench the Spirit.” (NIV) That sin is what we commonly call laziness. Discipline opposes laziness, and the Holy Spirit – God, is within us a Spirit of discipline. It is my choice to act on the Spirit.
In my life recently, having reached the end of high school, and it now being my summer before my 9-month journey to four countries on the World Race, $16,900 is staring me down and, if it is truly God’s will for me to embark on this adventure, then the Holy Spirit will lead me to get up and raise support. Now comes the time for self-discipline – a time for me to rise to the occasion.
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