|
Then
had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria,
and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the
comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
– Acts 9:31
|
|
There are times when life on
this earth is hard and uncomfortable...and even downright painful. When
those times come, you deeply need the comfort that only the Holy Spirit
can bring.
How do you receive that kind of comfort?
By doing just what the believers in Acts did. By “walking in the fear of the Lord.”
Now,
when I talk about “the fear of the Lord,” please understand, I’m not
saying you should be afraid of God. He’s your Father! You should be as
secure and unafraid when you come before Him as a child who knows he is
dearly loved. But you must also have so much respect for Him that
whenever He reveals something you need to do, you do it immediately—even
if it goes against your natural desires. That’s walking in the fear of the Lord.
Let
me show you what I mean. Once, several years ago, I received a very
disturbing phone call shortly before I was to preach at one of our
meetings. It was painful news about a situation in which one of my
children had been wronged. The news of it wounded my heart.
I
cried, and in the natural, I wanted to get angry about it, to strike
back in some way. But instead, I began praying in other tongues. As I
prayed, I was prompted in my spirit to rejoice and praise the Lord.
I certainly didn’t feel like
praising. I felt like stomping my foot. But, out of respect to the
Lord, I put my feelings aside and obeyed. Next, the Holy Spirit
impressed me to read a particular prophecy. As I did, I could tell I was
being strengthened.
Then suddenly, I realized I was free. By my
obedience, I had opened myself to the comforting power of the Holy
Spirit. The anger and pain that had filled me just moments before were
gone! They had been replaced by the gentle love and reassurance of the
Lord.
No matter how tough or painful a situation you may be facing
today, trust and obey the directions of your Father. He will make that
same supernatural, Holy Spirit-inspired comfort available to you!
|
No comments:
Post a Comment