Job Descriptions

“You are not the Holy Spirit . . . “

There it was. That still, small voice. Not loud. Not hammering me over the head. But there it was . . . quietly, yet clearly, reminding me of who I am, and in this case, who I’m not.

“But God, You don’t understand . . . “

“You are not the Holy Spirit . . . “

“But God, they’re wrong. They need someone to set them straight . . . to point out their sins. To make sure they realize how wrong they are. If I don’t, who will?!”

“You are not the Holy Spirit . . . “

Point taken.

I’m not talking about whitewashing sin here. There is definitely a time and a place and a necessity to speak the truth. The bible is very clear on what constitutes sin, and I highly doubt anyone has ever questioned my stance on a myriad of issues . . . even if they don’t agree with my viewpoints. But this wasn’t about my beliefs or standing up for what is right. I have a tendency to ruminate. To try to control things. To try to fix people. God may not hammer me over the head, but I sure will be the first to try to pound truth into someone else. I’m going to be the one change people.

But wait . . . I’m not the Holy Spirit. It’s not my job to convict others of sin. It’s not my job to change people . . . as if that’s even possible. Hard lesson to learn. Extraordinarily valuable lesson to learn.

I. Am. Not. The. Holy. Spirit.

“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” John 15:26

“Nevertheless 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 depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:7-15

A quick google search of this passage will lead you to site after site debating exactly who it is the Holy Spirit is convicting. Does He only convict non believers? Does He bring conviction to Christians? Regardless of who the scripture is referring to when it talks of bringing conviction in verses 8-9, we see that the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth, not once, but twice, in less than 20 verses. And you know what? There is no truth like the truth of God.

The Holy Spirit brings truth. He speaks truth. Regarding our sins, yes, but also regarding who we are in Him. Who He created us to be. When the Holy Spirit speaks truth into your situation, it brings awareness and wholeness rather than shame, guilt, or condemnation. And that truth is spoken, not only to our minds, but to the deepest recesses of our hearts. When the Holy Spirit brings truth, lives are changed.

So will I stand up for what is right? Absolutely, undeniably, yes. But I will also remember, it’s not my job to beat people down with truth. It’s not my job to bring about the transformation. But I know the One whose job it is, and I pray daily that He will bring truth to those around me.

I am not the Holy Spirit.

Copyright 2020, Courtney G Davis, All Rights Reserved 

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