Lasting Change

Every week I clean my house. It takes hours of exhaustive work to clean all the bathrooms, vacuum, mop, pick up the clutter, throw away the useless stuff, etc. And a few minutes later, it looks messy again. No matter how much work I do, I can’t control the fact that all my efforts will be undone in a matter of time. It’s not just my home that I try to clean and organize. I try to help others sort things out in their lives. I pray and worry.

A friend of mine was talking to me about some concerns she had about a loved one.  In the middle of this conversation, she made the following statement: “I’ve prayed; now, it is between him and the Holy Spirit.” This made such an impression on me.  I’ve been thinking about all the people that I am concerned about. In most cases, the only thing I can do, other than to worry, is to pray. The only person that I can even remotely control is myself.  Most everything else is beyond my influence. So, I went through the list of family and friends whom I pray for daily. I released each one to God and said to myself: Now it’s between him/her and the Holy Spirit.

“But John intervened: “I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.” (Luke 3:16-17 MSG)

 

Even John the Baptist admitted he had very little ability to change people. He baptized, preached, and convinced many people to repent and turn away from sin. He was zealous about his calling—living a simple, solitary life—fasting, praying—completely dedicated to God. Yet, he knew that it was beyond his power to convince another human being to truly change from the inside out. Soul level transformation—lasting change—can only happen through the power of the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is not a slacker; He is working even when we are oblivious to His presence.