The Holy Spirit in You Is Already Patient

            I just stood there, in the middle of the classroom I worked in last summer, wanting to pull my hair out.

All I could do was bite my lip in frustration. The rain had kept us inside all week and the volume of the students had exceeded my ears’ limitations. That morning had begun a day of never-ending complaints that I couldn’t handle anymore, and the patience I had just taught my four-year-olds about seemed like a foreign concept that I couldn’t grasp in that moment—so, I prayed.

            --And prayed some more.

            I begged God for the one fruit so many people tell me not to pray for or “I’ll regret it”—patience. As I stood before “my” children, I remembered who they were: young, innocent, and loving. In no way were they trying to frustrate me, and they definitely didn’t deserve any agitation aimed at them, but, as I said, my patience was waning; I was desperate for God to intervene.

            Then, the Holy Spirit spoke to my soul and reminded me or rather made me aware of a truth I believe so many of us Christians have overlooked. Acts 1 talks about the Holy Spirit coming upon us, that we will be baptized in the Holy Spirit when we become followers of Christ (NIV, Acts 1:5). When we receive Christ’s salvation, the Holy Spirit immediately indwells within us. Meaning, (get this) we have the power of GOD living within us, and if we let Him take over, we will be living by His power, not our own.

            If we have all of the Holy Spirit, then all of the fruit of the Spirit are within us as well. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (ESV, Gal. 5:22-23). If the Spirit is inside us, we have the capability to be patient because He is patient in us.

            So, yeah, you and I on our own may not be able to be or display patience, but the glorious truth is that we are not alone. We are baptized in the Holy Spirit who is entirely patient.

            Rely on Him and His patience to get you through. His power is in you if you have received His gift of salvation.

Living Life Together,

Rebecca Thomas

Elijah, a Man Like Us

            “God won’t use me like He used people in the Bible. They’re different. I’m not that good.”

            I used to think that above line a few years ago. No, I didn’t say it out loud, but inside, I felt it to be true. God seemed to use the people in the Bible differently from us today. To be used like Elijah the prophet seemed crazy, but my thinking process was entirely wrong.

            James 5:17-18 states, “Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain and the earth produced crops” (NIV).  The first time I read this verse, I couldn’t (and still can’t) get over the line “Elijah was a man just like us.”

Elijah was a man like me? A young woman who lives in the 21^st century?   

My thoughts ran rampant through my mind, but the answer from the Holy Spirit and God’s Word was and is still clear: God can and will use me like He did Elijah. I don’t have to be a certain person or level of “goodness” because God makes me worthy to be loved and used by Him, and God counts you worthy, too.

Maybe you have fallen into the lie that you will never be used by God or that you aren’t good enough for God to use mightily. Well, as James 5:17 says, you’re just like Elijah. He was human just like you are. He struggled with doubt, fear, sin, and probably a million other things, just like you. But, God decided to use Him still because Elijah knew that God made Him worthy.

The next time you think God can’t use you, remember Elijah and James 5:17-18. No, you probably won’t make a three year drought start, but you just may help change a person’s life who has never known God before.

And one last thought, not only did Elijah have to be willing to let God use him, but he also had to be obedient to God’s leading.

Living Life Together,

Rebecca Thomas

Making the Most of Every Opportunity

            Writing this post has been a long time coming. I’ve sat in front of my laptop for countless hours creating the perfect background and making sure the colors are flawless. I want to help others through the written word, but I’ve been too much of a perfectionist to actually begin. Many days I find myself not finding time to write a blog. Having to have everything perfect and not having enough time are the two biggest lies I allow into my mind. This spring break, God exposed those false truths for something else they are—excuses. These excuses are not only keeping me from writing a blog but also from obeying God.

            One day, I was reading when the Holy Spirit compelled me to open God’s Word. At first, I pushed against His leading because I was about to find out if the heroine ended up with her prince and besides, it was a Christian novel—I was learning about God. Soon, I couldn’t stand it any longer; reading God’s Word had become a need as imminent as my next breath. So, I opened to Proverbs 14.

            Until I read verse 23, I didn’t understand why the Holy Spirit had led me there. Now, the morsel of wisdom still echoes in my mind: “All hard work leads to a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (New International Version).  I realized what I had been doing—talking. I’ve talked about the blogs and books I’m going to write and the deeper relationship with my Creator I long to have, but I haven’t acted. Sure, I’ve planned out each step; planning is my strong point. But, as the verse says, talk leads to poverty, deficiency, insufficiency, death.

            Ephesians 2:10 declares that God has a specific work for us, but talking about what doors He has opened will hand us nothing but poverty. We must work hard to have a profit. Papers can’t be written, lives can’t be changed, and calls can’t be answered without hard work.

            God hasn’t desired for our lives to end in poverty. He has good plans as Jeremiah 29:11 states, but we have to step through the doors He opens and make the most of every opportunity. People’s lives are at stake because if we as Christians merely talk, many people may never know the grace of God and we may just miss out on part of that good plan.

Living Life Together,

Rebecca Thomas