In the letter to the Romans, Paul says,
“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit which dwells in you.”
Romans 8:11
Once Jesus was raised from the dead, he met the disciples and ate with them, providing plenty for them. When you think of Jesus, perhaps you only think of a Deity – far off, glorified, asking you to be a spiritual person.
Perhaps you feel Jesus is not interested in your physical struggles or that he is not willing to share them.
Perhaps you are aching from an injury or struggling with loss and disappointment. But Christ didn’t die for you and send his Holy Spirit upon you so that you would no longer suffer. Instead, he did so for you to partake fully in his life and to comfort you in body and spirit.
He invites you to take courage in the Spirit. He calls upon you to follow him in the midst of your life.
The Holy Spirit is a life-giver – a person who comes and brings life to you. As the daily struggles, joys, disappointments, opportunities, and changes come to you now, remember that God, through the ministry of Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, is right beside you.
The Lord never asked you to pretend to be spiritually perfect, but he gave you his Spirit so that he could share himself with you – He gave his Spirit to care for you, to fill you and guide you to him.
Don’t forget that the Lord Jesus walks beside you, caring for your needs, suffering with you on the road to Emmaus, and offering you nourishment in body and soul.
This reflection by Dominic Perrem is excerpted from the Pray by Day column featured in the Sword of the Spirit website.
Top image credit: Illustration of Holy Spirit and bible with landscape background, © by Kevin Carden, from ChristianPhotoshops,com. Used with permission.
Dominic Perrem is a coordinator in The Community of Nazareth in Dublin, Ireland.