Last week on the Revive DTS (week 5), we learned about Holy Spirit! It was so eye-opening for me and it really revealed so much about the amazing goodness of God! A couple that have amazed me about Holy Spirit this week are:
-He is the one that draws us to Jesus and connects us to the Father God. We are adopted into the family of God by the Holy Spirit.
-Jesus was 100% man and 100% God but He chose not to access His divinity while He was on earth. So the healings, the miracles, the incredible things He did during His ministry, was as a human who had the Holy Spirit! This is why He tells us we can go on to do even greater things than He did because we have the same spirit in us!
-The Trinity represents the perfect example of a family. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They interact in perfect unity and love and trust.
God really challenged me last week. It was week 5 of the DTS I’m staffing here in Perth and we were learning about Holy Spirit. I was challenged through a statement the speaker made: “Holy Spirit loves to be involved in your life! He cant take his eyes off his beloved children! He is always present to you, but are you present to him?” ….
I realized that I really hadn’t been present with God. I so often get caught up in daily life that I forget that almighty God wants to be my friend and just be with me! So, during the week, I began to make an intentional effort to be more aware of Holy Spirit’s presence. Throughout the day I have been saying a quick little prayers like “I recognize you are here with me. Thank you!” Or “there are donuts here, please give me strength!” I talk to him about anything and everything. The little steps in making coffee or cleaning a bathroom, and my worries, fears, insecurities. He cares about them all.
One day I was just chatting with God. Or “having a yawn” as Aussies say. I asked Him, “What Color are your eyes?”… I’m not sure why I asked this, I think I was just genuinely curious, but He answered me in a picture: He was face to face with me and in his eyes was the sunset/sunrise. Pink and orange and yellow and red. When I think of a sunset or sunrise I think of peace, and adventure, and laughter, and just living free. It is amazing! “The colors of the morning are inside His eyes” as one song puts it.
I have the amazing privilege of waking up around 5 am every morning for the school I’m staffing, and it’s incredible because I get to watch the colors of His eyes greet me through my glass door every single morning. Every morning He’s wanting to be face to face with me. Wanting to know me and wanting to be known by me.
They say eyes are windows into the soul. The eyes are such a place of intimacy! If you’ve ever just sat and looked silently into another’s eyes, you’ll know that is incredibly vulnerable and intimate. Eyes communicate so much more than words can say and there is a level of connection that comes from just being face to face.
Last year, during my DTS, my leader and his wife came camping with us. One day he felt like God wanted him to spend 24 hours without speaking so he found other ways to communicate during that time. I was walking down to the beach that day when I happened to witness an incredible moment of tenderness between him and his wife. He put his hands on her face and just looked into her eyes. It was such a look of complete love, complete devotion and tenderness, it impacted me greatly. Then he kissed her forehead and went about his day.
But that one moment has stayed with me because I realize that is the love of God for us. That connection. That complete intimacy and availability and presentness. He takes the first step. He brings His face near, looks at me, and waits. And no matter how long he waits, He won’t turn away his face. He will continue waiting for me.
Will I turn my head and take a moment to look into the eyes of the all loving Father who is so available for me? They say “the eyes are the windows of the soul.” God is sharing His soul with you. He’s willing to be known and vulnerable. Where is your gaze? Will you take a moment to meet his eyes, take a deep breath, and be known by God, or are you too distracted by the daily business. Take a moment to meet His gaze and to say “I recognize you are here with me. Thank you!” Keep this in mind next time you see the sunset or sunrise.
Numbers 6: 24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
