Journal Entry ~ 12/14/19

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. - Galatians 5:16

We all struggle to hear the Spirit when we quench it. Quenching the Spirit is different than grieving the Spirit - grieving is when we commit a sin.  It's when we intentionally do something against God's Word. There's really no arguing with it - scripture tells us it's wrong, but we do it anyway. This causes the Spirit to grieve, and the only way to right that wrong is to confess and repent our transgressions. 

In contrast, we quench the spirit when we don't do something we're prompted or convicted to do. Quenching is a bit more slippery slope, and a lot more tempting. It isn't necessarily sin to ignore the promptings, but we choose to anyway because it's easier. This is what makes the quenching of the spirit more tempting for many of us - because we know it's not sin, we can rationalize it away as being okay. 

For example, we all know we're supposed to get into the Word everyday, but we have so much to do, we choose to let it go for today.  It's not necessarily sin to not be in His Word, but we know we should. We hear the promptings and we ignore them. The same is true with small group or church, or giving of our time and resources to serving people in need.  

But that's just the tip of the iceberg - how many times have we been prompted to do something or say something, and we've ignored it? We give in to fear of man in the situation, or sheer laziness because we don't feel like doing it. And we rationalize it away because it's not sin. We must be so cautious when we choose to quench the Spirit. We all struggle in our lives and we all have people we are praying come to know Jesus intimately. It should be our desire that the Spirit shines brightly from our hearts through our struggles - not only so our loved ones see Him radiate from our faces, but to bring Glory to Him and Him alone. 

When we quench the spirit, He gets quieter and quieter, and we find ourselves out in the wilderness, wondering how we got there. There are signposts along the way, my friends. Pay attention. When we find ourselves feeling lonely or lost or we're disconnected, when we're frustrated or we're angry, when we're overwhelmed or we're anxious, when we we don't know what God is telling us to do....those are all signposts. Stop where you are and do an inventory of your life. Where are you quenching the Spirit?  Where are you not following through on God's promptings?  

If you want to feel His peace and His joy in a trial and you're not, if you want to hear His voice of wisdom in a difficult decision and you're not, you are probably quenching the Spirit somewhere. Find it and change it, and you'll feel His presence come in like a breath of fresh air. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Medical Update ~ 09/27/17

Image
Today was a challenging day.  I met with the oncologist to discuss chemo as part of my treatment plan.  The oncologist explained there were 3 additional invasions discovered during surgery, so there were actually 4 isolated invasions in the breast tissue.  To review - my diagnosis is Ductal Carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  All 4 of the invasions are HER2+ (aggressive) and hormone negative (recurrent).  My oncologist walked us through the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCM) guidelines for treatment of this type of aggressive, recurrent cancer - chemo and radiation. The good news is God had already moved the mountain in my heart opposing chemo, and rested me in a place of acceptance.  While my initial prayers focused on not having to have chemo as part of my treatment, after hearing I had multiple invasions, He moved me to a place of understanding that chemo is a necessary part of my treatment.  If there were 4 invasions in the sample they took, there co
Read more

My Journey Begins...

I am a believer in Christ, and I have breast cancer.     On August 17, 2017, I was diagnosed with an aggressive (HER2+), recurrent (hormone negative) type of Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.  At this point, they have not yet staged my cancer because they are waiting for the biopsy results from a suspicious spot in the second breast. The biopsy is scheduled for September 5th, with a lumpectomy to follow on September 7th.  They will formally stage my cancer after they biopsy my lymph nodes, which will be taken during the surgery.  It doesn't make any sense to me that I have a cancer diagnosis - I am a fairly healthy woman who runs 2 miles almost every day and eats a gluten-free, primarily paleo diet, with no family history at all.  But it makes sense to God, and so here I am. Update ~ They found 4 isolated invasions during the lumpectomy.  Due to the nature of my cancer (HER2+ and ER-), the recommended protocol is chemotherapy and radiation.  Beginning in October, my chemotherapy regime
Read more

Grace in Marriage

When we launched our new blog we had no idea if anyone would see it or be helped by it, but we knew that the LORD was prompting us to step out in faith and just do it. The response has been amazing and we are looking forward to how God will use this space for His glory. We have learned over many years of service in a variety of ministries, that God does not require human assistance to realize His plans for individuals, churches, nations, or the human race. But the story of the bible is the story of God’s will playing out through the words and actions of the His children. So…we pray, meditate on his Word, and write from the heart about the truths that mold our faith, guide our actions, and inspire our hearts and minds. Please visit the site and subscribe to continue receiving posts.  https://graceinmarriage.com/ It is our sincere hope that you are blessed by our work here and welcome your input on how we can make Grace in Marriage even better. Thank you for your support.
Read more