To The Willing

09.18.13

Luke 1.15b And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.

Luke 1.41b And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit...

Luke 1.67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying...(ESV)

The filling of the Holy Spirit was not new in the days of Elizabeth, Zechariah, and John the Baptist; it just hadn’t noticeably happened in Israel for a long, long time. God, who is Spirit, does nothing apart from His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. And in the days of the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, the Holy Spirit was moving powerfully. Israel had not seen such a thing in many years. And many people paid attention.

I don’t know why God moved in those particular days; I’m not privy to God’s calendar. But God doesn’t do anything apart from His Spirit. And here’s what I think happens when He does:

I think God foretells certain future events by His Spirit. God does move in mysterious ways but He does give some of us some of the details some of the time. Zechariah was told what would happen to Elizabeth and John. Mary was told about her forthcoming pregnancy, though she had known no man.

I think God equips His people for service by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s presence enables men to do great deeds for God. Zechariah and Elizabeth became pregnant in their old age…do the math.

I think God ordains praise by His Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit naturally moves God’s people to praise God for Who He is and thank God for what He’s done, doing, and will do. Praise encompasses the past, the present, and the future. Elizabeth, Mary, and Zechariah sang their little hearts out at the presence of, and the moving of God.

And I think God fills the willing to cooperate with His Spirit. Even outlandishly…

And that is where I think this goes: to the willing. God is predictably unpredictable, but He is always looking for the willing: the willing to listen, the willing to believe, the willing to act, and the willing to sing praise about it. Much of the time in many of our lives we live one mundane day after another; not much new seems to happen. But in reality stuff comes along all the time and the question is, are we willing to engage with God when it does and where it goes? It doesn’t matter what happens to us – big or small – God is a part of it all. Will we; will I, engage Him and be filled with His Spirit to see it through…whatever it is? Am I willing?

Father God, find me willing. Find me diligent. Find me cooperative. Use me to impact this little place in the world for You – I pray in Jesus’ Name…Amen.