Outsider

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.”-John 14:16-

Growing up, I was an outsider in my own family. In Pennsylvania, hunting is the norm for almost everyone. When you are a child, you can’t wait to get to be 12 years old so you could take your hunter’s safety course and get your hunting license. It’s just as important as becoming 16 and getting your driver’s license. It’s just what you do. Everyone does it and you are expected to do it. There are no written rules, of course, but it is certainly implied that when you become 12, you hunt; no doubt about it.
The problem for me was, I hated hunting! I had no interest in hunting! I couldn’t stand the thought of killing an animal! But, I was expected to hunt and so I went along with it. I wanted to be a part of the group and the crowd when they talked about hunting — and they talked about hunting a lot. In fact, it was all they talked about all the time!
I had other interests. I would much rather have been listening to music or reading or being involved in musicals at school, but that wasn’t part of the family tradition of hunting. Early on, I went along with it, but when I got into high school, I decided I was going to do my own thing and feed my own interests and the rest of the family weren’t quite sure what to do with me.
This is how a lot of Christians approach the Holy Spirit. To them, He is sort of like the Cousin Eddy of the Trinity – the one you’re not quite sure how to relate to. It never occurs to some of us that He (not “it,” by the way) may be our vital link to the Father & Jesus. We promise ourselves and others that we’re really going to change this time. But the change lasts only a few days. We keep striving to obey Jesus’ commands on our own, as if it were somehow possible to actually love our enemies, forgive those who hurt us, or consistently consider others better than ourselves. On our own, it just doesn’t work. When we try to pursue Jesus without being filled daily with the Spirit, we find ourselves frustrated by our failures and exhausted by our efforts.
Here’s the bad news: You can’t live the life Jesus calls you to in your own strength. But here’s the good news: You were never meant to. And here’s even better news: For the Christian, the power of God’s Holy Spirit is already available inside of you. Begin discovering the Spirit’s power by asking God to give it to you today and then paying attention to the ways it shows up in your life. It may manifest as extra patience with a family member, or an unusual amount of self-control with a temptation, or maybe you will experience a supernatural sense of peace in the midst of an overwhelming difficulty. God has given you this gift; make sure you open it.

Pursuing Today
What life circumstances are currently overwhelming you? What areas of your life are you trying to manage on your own? What promises have you made again that you have failed to keep again? (Be honest here; put words to your weaknesses and write them down.) Now compare your list to the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. Identify where the power of the Holy Spirit can give you victory, and then begin to surrender to Him daily. DON’T BE AN OUTSIDER!!