The Holy Spirit and Facing the Giants in Life

We face many things in life that have a tendency to derailing our relationship with Christ. When people in our life come against us by condemning us for our faith, we need to stand firm in our faith. Also, Jesus teaches us to love and forgive even our enemies. The love of God was given to us in such great measure. Why, then, can we not face our giants in life with the Holy Spirit as our strength and guide? We have to stop facing these giants in our lives on our own and then blaming God because it does not go in our favor. Also, stop taking the glory for yourself when the Holy Spirit walks you through the storm. He loves you and lifts you up when you seek Him. Seek Him in all things and in all ways. Amen!

The Holy Spirit and Facing the Giants in Life

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

(Matthew 5:11 NKJV)

The greatest giants we face in our lives as Christians are those that involve people closest to us. Our friends, family, even our church family can be guilty of saying things that may offend, belittle, or even slander your good name. We may try to ignore it, but it has been said and cannot be taken back or even forgotten. When stepping out in faith for the gospel of Jesus Christ and you are obedient to the call of the Holy Spirit on your life, these kinds of persecution will come to you. Everything that Jesus taught His disciples, He demonstrated. The teachings of Jesus were put in to real time action for the disciples to learn both through audio and visual. Jesus set the teaching paradigm that will be the perfect model for all time.

People are harsh for no other reason except they need to feel superior. Speaking negative and blasphemous things about you and your faith in Jesus Christ is expected. You will not be Blessed because you are persecuted. You will be Blessed in the way you handle the situation. Do not expect to be Blessed if you choose to lash out and take revenge on the person or persons. Remember, God said to His people that “Vengeance is mine!” He wants us to pray and seek His guidance through the power of the Holy Spirit and not take things into our own hands. We think either we are doing God a favor or we don’t trust that God is interested or capable to handle the issue. If that is the case, then you are far from knowing God.

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

(Matthew 6:14-15 NKJV)

The Holy Spirit is the one person in your life who is closer than any spouse, parent or sibling. When somebody comes against you because of your faith, the Holy Spirit is the one who is there as a guide, comfort, mentor, and strength to walk you through the situation. It may hurt, as you are being persecuted, but rest not in your own understanding. Give it to the Spirit of God and He will truly walk you through it. In this quote from Jesus, He speaks plainly concerning the giants in our lives. We face these giants daily in our work, home and in the public. They are people who attack you because they do not understand you and your faith. Jesus said in Matthew 5:44-45a concerning those who persecuted you, But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; In other words, Jesus is telling us that regardless of the conditions of the relationship with others, we need to pray for them and let Him handle it or at least let Him show us how to handle it.

Forgiveness considering times of persecution is very difficult. Jesus speaks plainly concerning this for the Christian. If we are unwilling to forgive those who persecute us, then why do you think God needs to forgive us. God does not have a double standard as human being do with forgiveness. Jesus is speaking straight to the point when He speaks of forgiveness. It is true. It is easier to forgive than to forget. But, I believe that we are unable to forget as a reminder of how vulnerable we are to the attacks of those around us. We are also not to forget so that we remember how God moved on our behalf in that situation. We then are able to glorify God and not vilify the person or the situation.

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.  (Matthew 12:33-37)

Give God the glory in all things and He will give you the desires of your heart. The beauty of a pure relationship with Jesus Christ is that He has an eternal love for you. He asks that you, in turn be the same toward Him. We are born with a sinful and tainted nature into a sinful world. The Holy Spirit in the life of those who truly believe in Him and live obedience to Him will seek the light in Him, find it and follow it. If your life is growing from the roots of the Son of God who is the way, the truth and the life, then you will produce fruit that is everlasting to life eternal. If then, by the same token, you are rooted in a life of sin and desires of the world you will be overtaken by the evils of the world and therefore subject to and overwhelmed by those who come against you.

The world offers only desolation and hurt. Sin offers nothing but hopelessness and destruction. We must be of the good tree which produces good fruit to bring glory to Jesus Christ. We can only do this through the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember that when we speak and how we speak to others reflects our relationship with Son and the Father. These also so whether we are the Holy Spirit guided life. Consider the words you speak because they reflect Jesus in your life. I work in construction and as a construction worker the manner of speaking on many occasions does not show the sinner struggling with life the true light of Christ and the way to the Father. I always try to pray that the Lord, through the power of the Holy Spirit, guards my thoughts and my speech in a way that show Jesus Christ those around me who need Him. We must guard ourselves against damaging our testimony of Jesus Christ before a sinful and lost generation. The giants we face in our lives are found mostly within ourselves in our responses to everyday life. So, remember that you can face and conquer those giants in your life just as David did in facing Goliath when everyone else was afraid and running scared. Jesus is your strength in the power of the Holy Spirit. Love and obey Him and He will lift you up.

Let us Pray:

Heavenly Father, forgive me when I have fallen short of Your glory. May I look to You for strength in the facing of my giants as David did with Goliath. Holy Spirit, lead and guide me the true ways of righteousness, for You are the lover of my soul and Your desire is for me to grow closer with You. Give me the strength, oh Lord, to love my enemies as You have loved me. Glory be Yours and Yours alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen