Advent Day 18 - The Holy Spirit

And the angel answered [Mary], 

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, 

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; 

therefore the child to be born will be called holy -- the Son of God." 

Luke 1:30-35

I've always had a hard time with the Holy Spirit. I don't know anyone, actually, who feels like they fully understand Who the Holy Spirit is, or His power and role. I've prayed on my knees that I could be filled with the Holy Spirit and feel closer to Him... of course I've also prayed many times that I could feel closer to God in general.

This week, I came across a reading written by John Piper for an Advent Devotional book. The book is called Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus and includes thoughts from many noted Christian writers on the coming of Christ. Here's what John Piper has to say about the Holy Spirit:

"[The ministry of the Holy Spirit] is to point away from himself to the wonder of God the Son and God the Father. Being filled with the Spirit means being filled with love for Christ... The Spirit is shy; he is self-effacing. When we look toward him, he steps back and pushes forward Jesus Christ. 

Therefore, in seeking to be filled and empowered by the Spirit we must pursue him indirectly -- we must look to the wonder of Christ. If we look away from Jesus and seek the Spirit and his power directly, we will end up in the mire of our own subjective emotions. The Spirit does not reveal himself. The Spirit reveals Christ. The fullness of the Spirit is the fullness he gives as we gaze on Christ. The power of the Spirit is the power we feel in the presence of Christ. The joy of the Spirit is the joy we feel from the promises of Christ... 

Devote yourself to seeing and feeling the grandeur of the love of God in Jesus Christ and you will be so in harmony with the Holy Spirit that his power will flow mightily in your life. Christian spiritual experience is not a vague religious emotion. It is an emotion with objective content, and the content is Jesus Christ. The shy member of the Trinity does mighty work, but he never puts himself in the limelight. You might say he is the limelight that puts the attributes of God the Father and the person of Christ into sharp relief."

As I read those words, I feel a sense of satisfaction. I have always wondered what it really means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Zechariah and Elizabeth are said to have been filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary was certainly filled with the Holy Spirit. Many references in the Book of Acts reference people being filled with the Spirit. Could we also be filled with Him?

Here the words of Piper clarify it a bit for me... the goal is not just to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but for my focus to be on Christ, by the enabling of the Spirit. And then the power that flows in my life will be the Spirit's power, and God will be able to use me mightily.

This is my prayer for myself and for my community. Let this be a prayer for all of us!