Available to the Spirit of God

““And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”

(Joel 2:28–29, ESV)

As I write this, there is moisture falling outside - the half rain and half snow kind. The longer we are outside when it is wet, the wetter we get; even if it is only lightly raining, we slowly get wet from the outside in as the moisture of the air soaks into our clothing. This is why most of us go inside when it is raining or put on clothes that shed the rain.

This illustration breaks down as most of us prefer to not get soaking wet, but I see a parallel to our present theme of the Holy Spirit. Just like the time spent in the rain has a slow yet increasing impact upon us, as we spend time with the Lord there is also an increasing impact of the presence and filling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The more we wait prayerfully (as the disciples did in Jerusalem between Christ’s ascension and the coming of the Spirit), the more we experience the guiding and care of the Spirit of God in our lives.

In what ways are we waiting upon the Spirit? Are there ways we are not waiting or blocking the Spirit filling us? We may want the blessing of His filling, but are we truly willing / available for the Spirit to lead us into situations and relationships where we are the conduits of God’s truth and love?

As we consider the first chapters of Acts, as we meditate on prophecies such as this one from Joel 2, how will we open ourselves up to the filling and leading of the Spirit?