Five Steps to Intimacy with the Holy Spirit
God wants to give you peace and your soul rest. He also wants to come and rest upon you! Just like this experience of Jesus: when he was baptized, Jesus came out of the water, and the heavens opened. He saw the Holy Spirit alight upon him like a Dove. That is what Father God wants for us: that we have the Holy Spirit perched on our shoulder 24/7.
There is a difference between the Dove visiting you at random times, and the Dove living continuously on your shoulder: If you have invited Christ into your heart, the Holy Spirit is either in visitation or habitation mode. Both are two options for how a Christ-one can relate to the Holy Spirit. [This idea came from Leif Hetland’s book Called to Reign.]
I believe that God wants us to be like Jesus. This would mean we should have the Dove in a relationship of habitation with us, not visitation. To do that we have to recognize our restlessness, those experiences that might make the Dove fly away. In my life the triggers causing the bird to get agitated and flit off are these: my getting upset with physical pain, my being startled by something sudden, and my having a toxic thought. When I asked God what to do about this, He suggested that I take each of the triggers, and repent of my responsibility for them. Then I am to breathe deeply to settle the adrenalin rush, and immediately turn the problem over to Him.
The Apostle Paul writes: Let the Peace of Christ rule in your heart. (Colossians 3:15). The word “rule” means to be a referee or an umpire. So the key I’d like to suggest for having a greater sensitivity to the Holy Spirit is to Feel that peace. If Peace abides on you, the umpire is ruling the player is “safe” for that play. If the Peace evades you, the umpire is calling “you’re out." If that is the case, just recognize the trigger, repent as needed and reconnect with God. God’s Peace will give you rest for your soul.
I believe this illustration will help us have increased sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Striving for the Dove to be in habitation, and not visitation will allow us to have more immediate and efficient access to input from God. Enjoy this new found possibility for becoming more intimate with the Holy Spirit.
Blessings,
