“I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:7–11)

I received some news this afternoon that absolutely threw me for a loop.  The news itself wasn’t particularly bad or good, and really wasn’t even directly for or about me.  And yet, it absolutely threw me off balance and left me in a place of profound introspection and self-examination.  For whatever reason, it “laid bare my soul” and I found myself questioning much  of what I thought I knew, believed and took for granted even just a few hours ago.  What was it that caused me to react in such a way?

Conviction.  Specifically the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

One of the reasons Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sin.  Not in a “you’re a horrible, miserable person and I want you to feel guilt and shame” way, but rather a “sin keeps you from the fulness of life I bought for you on the cross, so let’s get rid of as much of it as we can” kind of way.  We have an amazing ability to get comfortable with our misaligned priorities and values.  Those priorities and values are probably not necessarily bad in and of themselves, but if they are more important to us than God and His Kingdom, then they are sinful and not righteous — it’s a subtle form of idolatry.  It’s not necessarily that we have to get rid of those values and priorities, just that we need to put God’s values and priorities first.  In the Sermon the Mount, Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33)  I need to put God’s kingdom first, and trust Him to provide the rest.

The Holy Spirit used the news I received to shine a light on a couple of areas in my life where the kingdom of David was more important than the Kingdom of God.  I’ll be honest, it wasn’t fun, and I spent quite a while doing some phenomenal self-rationalization and self-justification with God.  And, honestly, I’m still working through it.  I don’t like being told I’m wrong or in error, and I’m sure you don’t either.  But I also know that God is shining the light in these areas of my heart because He loves me and wants His best for me.  The same is true for you.  

One of the key aspects of growing in holiness and faithfulness is keeping a soft heart that is sensitive to when the Holy Spirit is at work in us, convicting us of the areas in our lives that aren’t aligned with God’s heart and vision.  As we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost this month, I pray that each of us would have tender hearts, shaped and formed by the Spirit of God in the image of the Son of God.

“…he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb. 12:10–11)

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison