Becky Crenshaw

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.  John 14:26

A few weeks back, I received a text from a former neighbor.  My sweet friend, a mom of four, had purchased a couple of darling Etsy finds… but there was a problem.

Her Etsy account had not been updated since her move and therefore all of her cute Etsy finds were not found.   The Etsy store had mailed her packages to the old address – a few doorsteps away from me, but 115 miles from her.

She messaged a bit panicked , realizing the mistake and hopeful I could knock on my new neighbor’s door to retrieve the package.  So I wondered down there several times, but unfortunately the new occupant was rarely home.  I knocked and knocked, but to no avail.

The packages were sent but now misplaced, leaving my friend unsettled and frustrated.

***

Many times, I have read John 14:26.  I have studied John 14:26.  I have quoted John 14:26, but Monday I HEARD JOHN 14:26.  In particularly, ONE word ear-marked itself in my heart…

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send  in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.  John 14:26

Send.

Think on this with me.  Simply put, when something is sent, it leaves one person, and with great intentionality, it makes route to another.

In John 14, the Sender just so happens to be the God of the Universe  and the recipient just so happens to be….

You.

God’s gift to us, The Holy Spirit, makes route into our souls.

Send {pempō} to send from one’s abode;  to send or insert a thing into another

Jesus says that His leaving would prompt a package to be sent… A stamp paid with His precious blood.  A gift sent from the Throne Room of God. There is no mishandling of this Gift.  No getting lost at the Post Office.  No wrong addresses or mistaking doorsteps.  The Lord knows our number. He knows our street address and our coming and going.  He knows “every hair on our heads” and every thought that we think.

There is no mistaking, when I responded to the call of God, He sent me a gift… The Holy Spirit.  The question I ask today is, “Why do I live like I am still looking for my package?”

The big picture of my life — I know God’s got it.   I have tremendous faith for my future – Jeremiah 29:11 guarantees us this.   But the next ten minutes?  For some reason that takes greater trust.  I need faith for this day. I need power for this week.

The tension is always within me … will I  yield to the Holy Spirit  TODAY?   Will I give Him full reign over my motherhood, over my marriage, and over the details of Thursday, February 6th?

Francis Chan says, “I want to live so that I am truly submitted to the Spirit’s leading on a daily basis. Christ said its better for us that the Spirit came and I want to live like that is true. I don’t want to keep crawling when I have the ability to fly.” – Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit

I see more defeated people in a day’s time, than I do victorious ones. Myself included.   It’s as if we wonder around, knocking on doors where no one is home, searching for hope, help and joy when the Lord has already sent His Gift of OVERCOMING POWER directly to us.   From His abode to ours.

There should be a distinctive difference in a person directed by the power of the Holy Spirit than the one without.  What are the differences?  Look at what Jesus says next:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you… Let not your hearts be troubled.  John 14:27

Jesus leaves us a gift of peace and offers us a heart untroubled.  Yes.  But let us couple verse 27 with verse 26…  The peace we all SO LONG FOR in our minute to minute lives, is found in this straight-from-Heaven gift.

He is the bounty of your victorious day.

So what does this mean for Thursday, February 6th?  It means we can simply open the front door of our hearts and receive His Gift to us.  Our Helper, The Holy Spirit.

Where do you need help today?

I might need help with this…

You think?

***

After stalking my neighbor’s house {kidding, not really}, we finally retrieved the Etsy package.  Thankfully, he’d set it aside for the day someone came for it.

Let today be the day we, too, recognize the gift sent to us – The Holy Spirit  

Retrieve Him. Receive Him.

And live this day {and everyday thereafter}, not as one who crawls, but as one “with the ability to fly.”

Power Quotes and Verses

“In the craziness of our world, it takes tremendous effort to find a quiet place. It takes time to quiet your mind and your heart before the Lord.” – Forgotten God, Chan

Those who think they can do [life] on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life.  Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them – living and breathing God!  Romans 8:5, The Message