When I was a little girl, the Sunday school teacher explained the Holy Ghost. I envisioned hordes of spooky white shrouded trick or treaters on Halloween with cut out holes for eyes and I shuddered. Don’t ghosts appear only on Halloween?
Now we call the Holy Ghost the Holy Spirit and should not fear Him. However, questions remain about the identity and role of the Holy Spirit.
Who is the Holy Spirit? Find out four important truths to know about the Holy Spirit and wellness.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
Despite my childhood fears that the Holy Ghost only came out on Halloween night shrouded in a sheet, the Holy Spirit was present at the beginning of time, at creation, before the world began (Genesis 1:2).
The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity composed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. “Trinity” is not in the Bible. The word comes from TRI meaning three and UNITY meaning one—three in one.
Even theologians have a hard time explaining the Trinity. But it may help to understand the Trinity as the complete entity of God made up of three persons with unique roles in one deity, Father (God), Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit (counselor).
As an adult, I learned the Holy Spirit has the unique role of a counselor as part of the Trinity and is not scary at all. In fact, He is just the opposite. For example, synonyms for the word counselor are advocate, adviser, instructor, mentor, teacher, guide, friend, helper, confidant, and coach. The Holy Spirit guides us on the journey to wellness as our friend and confidant. He instructs us in God’s Word and leads us to live holy lives. (John 16:13)
Finally, without the help of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for us to do any of this on our own. As Corrie ten Boom wrote:
“Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.” [1]
How do we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?
First, know you are a sinner and alienated from God. (Romans 3:23) Above all, believe that Jesus is your Savior. He died for you because He loves you.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is our down payment, our guarantee of salvation and eternal life. Paul wrote “(you) were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV).
The Holy Spirit gives us freedom from sin and death (Romans 8:1-4). A new life, a renewed relationship with God the Father through the death of Jesus the Son. This is a supernatural phenomenon. Not like the scary Holy Ghost of my childhood, but an amazing and holy gift of mercy and grace!
How does the Holy spirit work?
God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. Call it intuition or conscience or a gut feeling. If we stay close to God in prayer and reading His Word, we test our thoughts and feelings against what we read and know of God’s commandments and promises for us. Then we see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
The Bible says, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things” (Galatians 5:22-23 NLT).
How does the Holy Spirit help us on the journey to wellness?
God created us in His image, so honor God with your body. The Spirit of God lived in the Tabernacle, the Temple, in Jesus, and now in our bodies as believers. The Bible says, “do you not know your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV).
However, our wellness journey depends solely on God’s power, not our willpower. Some unhealthy habits may be difficult to change. We cannot do this on our own strength. We may have to fail repeatedly to learn this. But when we keep asking the Holy Spirit to guide us, we will produce fruit of the spirit, self-control.
When we give into temptation, the Comforter comforts us. Then, if we ask the Holy Spirit, “why did I fail”, He advises us what to do next time when faced with adversity.
In addition, the Holy Spirit enables authentic relationships by giving us the power to love people as God loves them, because we can never do that on our own either. The journey to wellness is better when done in community with other people.
Allow the Holy Spirit to work within you, guiding you to produce fruit of the spirit. Wellness of the spirit is the natural outcome of this process.
Final thoughts
The Holy Spirit, as part of the Holy Trinity, is our counselor, advocate, guide, and helper when we accept Jesus as our Savior. Therefore, we are no longer alone when navigating difficult situations.
The fruit of the Spirit is proof of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Wellness develops from the Holy Spirit in balance with the mind and body. Today, begin the journey to wellness by developing fruit of the Spirit with the Holy Spirit as your guide today!
Reference
[1] BOOM, Corrie TEN. Tramp for the Lord: with Jamie Buckingham. CLC Publications, 1974.
Really enjoy this article on the Holy Spirit
Tom, I am glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading.