Wednesday: I Will Stop Seeking and Begin to Praise
WEEK 51
WEDNESDAY
I WILL STOP SEEKING AND BEGIN TO PRAISE
Mark 11:20-24
We are taking the steps in receiving the Holy Spirit.
Eighth, I will act as if the Spirit were there. The Holy Spirit will reveal himself in his own way. Faith is acting as if it were done and launching out upon it as a working hypothesis. It is life lived assuming that what God is in character God will perform in the concrete. God’s nature is to give the highest; then God will give me this, the gift of the Holy Spirit. When I do this, I am not running contrary to God’s nature; I am coinciding with it. I am not overcoming God’s reluctance; I am laying hold on God’s highest willingness.
And I will not lay down the method of manifestation. The coming of the Holy Spirit may be as gentle as the coming of the dawn or as a rushing, mighty wind; it may be the settling of a conviction within my mind and heart that will take complete possession. To me the Spirit came like gentle waves of refining fire, cleansing and filling my being. But there is no standard way of the Spirit’s coming; it suits each need.
Ninth, I will not look at myself, nor will I look around at others; I will look at Jesus—and thank him. If you look at yourself; you’ll be discouraged; if you look around, you’ll be distracted; if you look at Jesus, you’ll have peace and quiet possession.
Tenth, I will stop seeking and begin to praise the Spirit for what he has given and will give. The seeking attitude is sometimes tense and anxious; the praising attitude is relaxed and receptive. The praising doesn’t say that you have everything, but it does say that you are on the Way! It says “thank you” for what you have, and then that thanksgiving is open expectancy for what is to come.
Now that you are in possession of the Spirit, remember that you don’t possess the Spirit; the Spirit possesses you. You are not going to use the Spirit; the Spirit is going to use you! The surrender meant a surrender to get the Spirit and now surrender to the Spirit’s purposes. You are aligned to those plans and purposes.
O Divine Spirit, I thank you for your coming. My heart is your home forever. We will work life out together—my willingness, your power—what an adventure! Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: Since I do not possess the Spirit but the Spirit possesses me, I shall leave him in full control.