Our Deep Calling By Cortney Donelson

Ephesians 4:30 (The Message)

“Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.”

Source: Unkown

We were created to go deep…

Despite God’s command to “fear not,” I just cannot seem to avoid fear and worry at times. But those feelings are merely superficial. Oh, they feel as if they run to the core of my being. The Serpent is crafty in that way. However, if I truly connect in the deepest parts of myself, where God resides, fear has no place. Let me explain…

My husband has been training for a half ironman (long distance triathlon) for a couple of months now. He spends up to three hours a day swimming, cycling, and/or running. On good days, I am inspired enough to go for a longer-distance run myself. On the not-so-good days, I eat as if I am training right alongside him. Not good!

At 6:00 am one recent Saturday morning, my husband left for a 90-minute bike ride, followed by a 30-minute run. Crazy, I know. His plan was to be home by 8:00 so that I could hand off the childcare baton and go for my extended run of the week. At 8:30, he wasn’t home from his bike ride, and I was reminded of the fleeting thought I had kept to myself at 6:00 am when he kissed my forehead goodbye. Just be safe. His running shoes sat in the garage, and a wave of panic flew through my heart. At this point, he was an hour late. I tried to reach him on his phone, but there was no answer and no response to my text message.

I paced the house while the kids played. My superficial layers were planning a funeral. However, God reminded me of Ephesians 4:30, which implores, “Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.”  So, I began to pray, “Holy Spirit, I need You. Fear is just a lie. Imagining the worst will not bring him back any sooner. Please slow down my racing heart. Help me to breathe and think. God, I trust You!” My worries subsided. My racing heart slowed. Peace ensued and flowed into me, from the deepest parts of my soul, up into those superficial layers where the anxiety had taken hold.

Rather than going into full blown panic, I was able to come up with a plan to find my husband. As I was in the middle of a text message to a couple of my friends asking them to come watch my kids while I drove around to locate him, the garage door opened. I breathed a sigh of relief – then thanked God.

Our gift named the Holy Spirit wasn’t finished yet. Instead of throwing open the door to the garage and permitting my emotions to dictate my words, the Holy Spirit impressed on me the necessity of keeping my calm. My husband was home and in one piece. For that I was thankful. He was also visibly angry. He was in no emotional position to realize the anxiety he had caused me by not calling home. “Wait until this moment passes. Talk to him later…” The Holy Spirit guided me to respond out of love and patience rather than fear and anxiety. If you know me well, you know this was not “of me.” I imagined God smiling as I chose not to take the Holy Spirit for granted but to listen to the gift of His advice. Later, I would learn his anger had stemmed from the amount of time his ride took and that his being late had caused me to push my run back.

“God knows what each one of us is dealing with. He knows our pressures. He knows our conflicts. And He has made a provision for each and every one of them. That provision is Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit, indwelling us and empowering us to respond rightly.” – Kay Arthur

According to Ephesians 4:30, the ability – and obedience – to connect intimately with God makes us healthier Christ-followers. In fact, the decision not to connect with God within our deepest parts can lead us to break His heart. “Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.” Had I panicked, lost control, or spewed angry words when my husband finally did arrive home, God would have grieved. I sure don’t want to break His heart – or my husband’s.

Having a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit is extremely important to our spiritual and emotional lives. The Holy Spirit is a gift to those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior – a gift I do not want to take for granted. He fills us in the deepest parts of our being, providing encouragement through difficulties, wisdom during trials, patience in adversity, love through the hurts, and strength despite our own weaknesses. He allows us to turn away from Satan’s attempts to damage our superficial layers – let’s call them temptations. The Holy Spirit helped me turn from the temptation to hurl hurtful words.

It is important to note, though, that it’s not just about the prayers we whisper, the words we speak, or the good deeds we accomplish. The relationship is what matters. Our deep calling involves trust. It requires intimacy. It takes time. But this relationship, as it develops, produces stronger witnesses for His Kingdom.

Prayer – Lord, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit. It amazes me to no end that Your strength, wisdom, patience, love, and mercy all reside within our deepest parts. I pray we do not ever take that for granted. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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