Holy Spirit Mondays: God Fights for You

Each week I send a short reflection to help you deepen your relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Read:

There are varying translations of Exodus 14:14, but two of them, importantly, are rendered like this: (1) "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still." (2) "The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

Ponder:

The first revelation in this verse may come as a surprise to you. The Lord fights for you. That is a vital reason for the Incarnation. Christ came to redeem us.

The second revelation in this verse is that we must respond. We must receive this gift of divine love and return it with an equivalent gift of human love. That is a vital reason for Pentecost. The Holy Spirit came to sanctify us.

Think about it.

"Keep still" speaks to the restlessness in our bodies, emotions, thoughts, and relationships. Our constant impulse to plan, talk, strategize, pressure, impel, push, pull, drive, draw, act, cause, compel, displace, do, make, move, obligate, oblige, and perform - tends to force an outcome or outcomes that are not from God or for God.

"Be silent" speaks to something even deeper; there is a type of inner noise that comes out as anxious prayers, constant complaint, grievance, objection, discontent, disapproval, and dissent from God's will.

That is why we are called to stop moving and to stop speaking. We need to relearn to hear God and to trust that God is fighting for us. In other words, we are called to a deliberate silence and stillness that gives new life to our sense of His faithfulness.

Pray:

"Most Holy Spirit, save me from myself and sanctify me."

Ask:

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A Coptic Orthodox icon of Pentecost.

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