My favorite fiction book of all time is The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. It’s a comedy science fiction novel that features a special drink called the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. The effect of the drink is described as “like having your brain smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.”
I’ve been re-reading Francis Chan’s book “Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit.”
Francis Chan is Pastor Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.
If you haven’t read his books or seen his videos, Chan is a man who has seriously taken his pursuit of God. He is a man who has openly renounced the “American” way of “doing church” and isn’t afraid to ask the Holy Spirit if he’s not really following the way he should be following Him.
I really like that about Chan.
It’s a quality I want to develop more within myself.
Even though I’ve previously read “Forgotten God” it’s as if I’m seeing it through new eyes. I can’t seem to go more than a few pages before hitting something that makes me stop and pray and wonder. I’ll have to admit that I’ve really not given the credit to the Holy Spirit for His work in my life.
Check out this passage from the book…
He wants us to know that His gift of the Holy Spirit is really not for our own pleasure or purposes. The Spirit is meant to lead us toward holiness. The Spirit is here with us to accomplish God’s purposes, not ours.
God’s purposes.
Not ours.
Now, I’m asking you to be honest. When you last prayed…were you really praying for the Holy Spirit to guide you into God’s purposes…or were you asking for Him to do something you want Him to do?
I’ll be honest first…in my last prayer…I was asking Him to make something happen that I really wanted to have happen…
I do that far too often compared to the times I just ask the Holy Spirit to guide me into what God wants me to do.
I used to lay a guilt trip on myself about that. I would beat myself up and say my pride is out of control. Now, I think it’s just human nature as much as pride. We want things to be easier when times get tough. We want to have things that make us happy. Sometimes that feeling of wanting comfort overwhelms that feeling of turning to God and the unknown of what His will and direction might be for us.
But still…we need to pray for His will first and foremost.
And trust in the Spirit who is always right there with us to guide us into that path God has chosen.
