Water rushed from the gutters above me and thunder shook wooden beams below. Birds took shelter in the cedar trees and chattered as if there were no darkened sky. The leaves of the rose bushes bent beneath the weight of fresh rain.
I often find the Holy Spirit in the rain.
The front porch of my childhood, often a place of solace for me, found me literally reveling in God’s thunderous glory this weekend.
I went up with my sweet kiddos to visit my parents and grandparents while Hubby was away counseling at church camp. I love the rain, and the storm was a sweet surprise I enjoyed from the porch swing with a sleeping Baby Bear in my arms.
As the rain pelted down onto the sidewalk, I breathed in deep, knowing that I was inhaling something much more than rain-soaked soil.
So often I do not give the Holy Spirit enough credit. I move about my day uttering prayers at the appropriate times, reading Scriptures with more fervor in my voice than in my soul, and not really thinking about how much power is concentrated within the Spirit of God.
I’ve witnessed sorrowful communities sob through prayers with no faith. I watched myself pray alongside them, with a heart full of doubt, only to be knocked back by the sheer power of the Lord at work.
My daily rhetoric too often includes statements like,
This project will never come together. Look at the odds against it!
.
I feel so far gone. There’s no way God can use me.
.
He’ll never recover. We all know what the doctors said.
But when I drank in the sweet sound of the rain and felt the quaking thunder God reminded me that His Spirit cannot, will not be contained to a box of human understanding.
It is transcendent.
It is set apart.
It is full of power.
What is your heartbreak today? Your obstacle? Your darkness?
I invite you today to drink in the Holy Spirit. To let it rain-soak your weary and worried soul. To boldly approach the throne of grace and embrace God’s power to overcome more than we could ever imagine. Won’t you join me?
Holy Spirit, fill me up. Illuminate my darkness. Obliterate my doubt. Transcend my humanity, immerse me in Your presence, and fill me up with more of You.
Amen.
a fresh brewed faith 