Forgotten God
Excerpt taken from Francis Chan’s “Forgotten God”.
“…even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:17 You’ve probably heard this truth a hundred times, but have you marveled at it? Would you be willing to take thirty seconds right now just to dwell on the fact that God is in you? Astonished? This is not a distant, loose connection. This is the Spirit of God choosing you and me to be His dwelling place. That means that as I write, the Spirit of the living God is inside me. I might wake up on a particular day feeling physically tired or stressed or impatient, and humanly speaking, those things would probably define my day. But the reality is that I am indwelt by the Holy Spirit. And because of this reality, stress and tiredness and impatience don’t have to define my day. As you go to work every day. As you go to school. As you face tragedy and pain. As you give of yourself in relationships. As you walk the dog. As you make decisions. As you live your life, the Holy Spirit is dwelling in you.
Please don’t let this reality slip past you like an interesting piece of trivia that might catch your attention for a minute but that you’ll never take the time to investigate. You are a temple of the Holy Spirit. You are not just a person living your life by human power. The Spirit of God is in you; that is why Jesus said it was better for Him to go and the Spirit to come. Don’t walk away from this. Delve into it and let it impact you deeply, first internally and then outwardly. —————————————————————————————————————————-
I found this excerpt to be incredibly encouraging, as I, like many others have forgotten that Christ lives in me. It’s so easy to go by day to day and let deadlines, appointments and engagements dictate our productiveness. It occurred to me yesterday how consumed I am by my own job. I’m more than blessed to say that I love what I do but at times it can be overwhelming and most of the time it feels like I’m going through it alone. Reading this passage from Chan’s book brought great light to a once dimly lit road. Since I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior I can find comfort knowing that the Holy Spirit has never left me and that He will never forsake His children.
I can only pray that as our Beloved family (Beloved Rehoboth and Caring Hearts) continues to grow that these children will one day accept this same truth. That although our Beloved staff and visitors aren’t able to be there physically at all times, we find peace knowing that the Holy Spirit is dwelling inside each and every one of them. Please continue to pray for the parents of the homes to continually renew their strength in Him. This “forgotten God” must not be forgotten no more. It’s an incredible truth that must be reminded to ourselves every day.
-Priscilla Chun