Being Under the Influence
"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance." -Acts 2:4
What does it mean to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit? "Being under the influence" doesn't have anything to do with drugs or alcohol. It means, in part, that we submit every thought, every action to God.
When we get good at this, it happens without us even having to think about it. It means we have open ears, and we seek him continually. It means that we “pray without ceasing,” and we maintain an attitude of prayer. It means we read the word, and live by it. It means that we keep our attitudes in check, and we treat others with love and respect. It means that the fruit of the Spirit is evident in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
“Being under the influence” may seem like a hopeless list of to-do's. But, simply stated, it involves being gently led by the Holy Spirit in freedom, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. It is more caught than taught. I went to a Bible school where we learned to abide in the Holy Spirit, in every area of our lives, and submit those areas to Him. It was more about learning to walk under the anointing of God than it was about basic book knowledge. We learned scripture, but we learned it with its practical application.
In Bill Johnson's book Hosting the Presence, he describes living life as if we had a dove resting on our shoulder; the dove being the Holy Spirit. How would we live if a dove was resting on our shoulder? "Every step is made with the dove in mind," he says.
Are you under the influence? If you're having trouble catching what that means, get around someone you know who is influenced and led by the Holy Spirit. You will experience new degrees of freedom and revelation that you never imagined possible, and God will be able to do the miraculous through you.
Relate resource: The Resting Place: Living Immersed in the Presence of God by Bill Johnson
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