Cast me not away from Your Presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Psalms 51:11
How can it be that you can be surrounded by people all day long and still feel extremely alone? Does loneliness overwhelm you? Does despair sit upon you like a cloak? Do you have bouts of sadness that continually wash over you? You are not alone. Many people currently are fighting this same battle. As the culture and the world spins darker and becomes more dangerous and mean, so many draw within themselves only to find crushing loneliness. There is that place within us that is like a gapping hole in our soul and heart.
The cavern within our hearts and souls is there from our very beginning. I believe we were designed that way. That ‘hole’ / cavern within us was designed for a purpose. Most spend their entire lives attempting to fill that ‘hole’. At first, that hole in us is filled hopefully with loving parents, but that is just a beginning of what the Creator planned for us. That seems to be the human pursuit, to find that ‘thing’ that will compete us and make us whole. So many try to fill it with things / drugs / sex / human praise / power / influence / fame / marriage / friends and all sorts of other soul numbing agents. Some even turn to the fallen / enemies of God to fill that nagging space, becoming possessed by evil.
But there is only ONE solution that really satisfies the human soul and heart, that makes a person feel complete and whole. That ‘space’ / cavern was designed specifically to be inhabited by the very Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. I firmly believe Adam and Eve had it… before the Fall. Adam certainly had the Wisdom of God to name all of the animals, and that ability could have only come from the Spirit of God, as he was basically an ‘infant’ in knowledge.
The magnitude of this revelation, that we must be indwelled by the Holy Spirit to become the fullness of what our Creator intended when He created each and everyone of us, is especially important for us to actually ‘feel’ whole and loved. To really experience God’s love it MUST come through the Holy Spirit. Learning how to develop that specific relationship with the Holy Spirit should become paramount in our lives, as He guides us into what the Father’s heart intent is for us. To know Him to even greater depths and to actually experience His love in ways we haven’t even dreamed of, becomes our very created purpose. We come to realize more and more that we were created to be loved by Him.
So how is this actually done? By Jesus. He is the One who baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and fire. Baptism is an process of immersion, and overwhelming the individual completely, body, soul, and spirit. Water baptism is the external symbol of what is happening to the soul and spirit of the individual. But we still must allow Him to dwell within us because God never removes our ‘free will’ / choices. We must continually go to Him for His Presence / wisdom / counsel / teaching / instruction / help / and comfort. Just like any relationship the strength is contingent on time, depth, honesty, and willingness to communicate our ‘real’ selves. So much of the enemy’s tactics are to harm that very specific relationship with the Holy Spirit. How does the enemy do that? By getting you to believe lies, untruths, and become convinced you are not worth it. Any tactic to get you to remove yourself by your own choices NOT to listen to the Holy Spirit.
This is the spiritual battleground you are currently on. The enemy does everything to make it hard for you to hear His Voice inside your ‘space’ within your soul. If you can’t hear Him then you become easily distracted, and led off His path for you. If you can’t hear Him then is it so much easier to convince you of the lies the enemy wants you to believe. What is the solution? Surrender to the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to show you anything that might be hindering His Voice within you. Anything that you are shown by Him — renounce it and ask Him to remove it. Repent, and turn around. Nurture His Voice within you .. by obeying Him. Being quick to do what He asks you to do. Find those who want the same thing you do, being that they also want a much deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit and are learning how to do that. It helps to hear others what the Holy Spirit is telling them, when you realize you are hearing almost the same things.
This is actually what the real Church (ekklesia) is for. Where the members of the Body come together and encourage one another with what the Holy Spirit is doing within each of them. To unite together in His love and wisdom, by hearing how each member of His Body is being asked to do things by the Head (Father / Jesus / Holy Spirit). Unfortunately the institutional Sunday Service has become a ‘platform’ entertainment / lecture and performance. If that is all you have… I am very sad for you. As the spiritual life within us is quickened by real fellowship (koinonia) with others like yourself as each describes how the Holy Spirit is working through them. This is the needed time of coming together for the real ‘connection’ with each one. So many current institutional ‘Church’ services are only a canned / planned, and strictly ordered performance by the ‘players’ on the platform. One can enter and never interact with another person all the while being surrounded by a building or place filled with people. Most never get to actually ask questions or share what’s on their hearts. If that ‘Church’ has small break out groups that may be the only chance for real “church” to happen. Yet .. without those filled and guided by the Holy Spirit within the leaders and others those groups can be as equally empty for the soul.
Find your ‘tribe’. That is more important than you realize. Having Spirit-connections with those members of His Body who you are to be joined with, will greatly enhance your life and fulfillment. They will be able to guard you while you live life by His instructions. (read the book of James)
Listen to that Voice of the Holy Spirit within you. Learn how to have clarity and ‘ears to hear’ within your soul and mind. Allow Him fill you with His love.