Holy Spirit Archives - Marissa Henley

The Lord is in His Holy Temple {No Matter What Monday}

March 18, 2019 by Marissa 5 Comments

This week we’re continuing in the book of Habakkuk, where we see a conversation between God and a suffering prophet. Habakkuk cried out to the Lord for help, and God told him that He would bring the Chaldeans to oppress the people of Judah. (This was not good news!) As the conversation continues, God tells Habakkuk that He will eventually bring justice and punishment to the wicked Chaldeans. There will be suffering and hardship, but deliverance will come (Habakkuk 2:5-19).

Then God speaks these words of comfort to Habakkuk:

“But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)

When I first read these words, they didn’t strike me as greeting card material. I haven’t yet shared this verse in a “thinking of you” card. How can we find comfort in these words?

The Lord’s presence in His holy temple teaches us that He is ruling and reigning over all things. Psalm 11:4 says, “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.” He’s ruling from His throne, and He also sees us. He sees the sin of others that affects us. He sees our hurt. He sees our tears.

And since we live at this point in history, after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s presence in His holy temple means even more. God the Son left the throne of heaven to dwell among us. Now His redeemed people have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us – now we are God’s temple. First Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

God says in Habakkuk 2:20 that He is in His holy temple – and Scripture tells us that we are God’s temple. What does that mean? It means God is with us.

The words of this verse brings comfort to those who are in Christ because we know the Lord reigns from His throne and He resides with us in our suffering.

No matter what you face this week, the Lord is in His holy temple.

Hope that Overflows {No Matter What Monday}

April 23, 2018 by Marissa Leave a Comment

I’m a mostly boring person, and I don’t push the envelope very often. But occasionally, I let my gas gauge get down to E and create some excitement.

Once I let my engine run on a cold day while I waited for my kids to finish piano lessons. (See how exciting our life is?) I finally realized the little display on my dashboard was trying to tell me I only had five miles to go until empty. I immediately turned off the car and pulled out my phone to search for the nearest gas station. Two miles away. No problem.

But when the kids piled in and I started driving, the miles on the fuel range display ticked down more quickly than I expected. My kids and I prayed anxiously until we slid into the gas station with a zero on the display.

Do you feel like you’re running on empty today? I’ve got good news for you! The God of hope will fill you with joy, peace, and hope that overflows.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13, NIV)

This overflowing hope is more than you could ever need. It never runs out. You’re not just driving around with your gas gauge on full, there is gas gushing out of your car!

This hope is overflowing because its source is our infinite God of hope. He is the source of our hope, and our hope is in Him. This overflowing hope comes by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

When we face circumstances that look hopeless, we can continue to be hopeful. The God of hope promises to fill His children with more than enough hope for all our struggles and suffering.

No matter what you face this week, God will fill you with overflowing hope.

The Greater One {No Matter What Monday}

October 23, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Have you ever seen the Who Would Win book series? These children’s books depict a hypothetical battle between two animals and predict the outcome. Could a giant squid defeat a whale? What if a tiger and a lion dueled to the death? What about a tarantula vs. a scorpion? That’s a match I hope I never have to see!

Some days, the world around us might make us wonder, “Who’s gonna win? Will God really come out on top here, or are the forces of evil too great?” It seems like sin, wickedness, and death are winning. We watch violence rage around the world, disease threaten those we love, and sin rips families apart.

The Bible is the ultimate Who Would Win book, and the outcome is not hypothetical. Spoiler alert: Jesus wins. And because we are united to Him by faith, His victory is our victory.

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

He who is in you (God the Spirit) is greater than he who is in the world (the devil and the forces of evil). God’s victory has already taken place. Jesus Christ sits at the Father’s right hand and reigns over all powers and dominions (Eph. 1:19-21). His Spirit dwells in us, reminding us to not lose heart because glory is coming (2 Cor. 4:16-18).

If your heart is discouraged today, remember that the One who loves you and gave Himself for you is the same One who has overcome the world. The middle of your story might be messy and hard, but you know how this one ends.

And as you wade through the muck of sin, evil, and life in this fallen world, the One who is in you – the One who will never leave you or forsake you – is greater than your most threatening enemy. You have overcome, because He has overcome.

No matter what you face this week, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

You’ve Been Given a Guarantee {No Matter What Monday}

October 9, 2017 by Marissa Leave a Comment

We’ve talked for the last few weeks about spiritual blessings from Ephesians 1. We’ve seen that God chose us because of His love, delights in adopting us into His family, and redeems us by His grace. Once we’ve received these gifts of salvation in Christ Jesus, how do we keep them? Can we lose these gifts by doubting or disappointing the One who gave them to us? We find the answer in these verses:

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Those who hear and believe are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. In John 7:37-39, Jesus promised to send the Spirit to those who believe in Him. So when God gives us the Holy Spirit, it proves two things: God keeps His promises, and we belong to Him.

We are sealed as a guarantee or down payment of our inheritance. We experience our inheritance in part now, but one day, we will experience the fullness of this inheritance in Heaven with Him. As we wait for that day, the Holy Spirit “bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:16-17a).

We are sealed until we acquire possession of our inheritance. The verse doesn’t say, “You were sealed until the day your faith wavered or until God got fed up with your repeated failures.” Our sealing—our belonging to Him because of the finished work of Jesus Christ—is guaranteed until we acquire possession of the eternal life given to us.

The Holy Spirit is a beautiful and complex gift from God. He is our Comforter, our Guide, our Sustainer. He is also our Guarantee, reminding us that our hope is certain because the One who saved us is also holding on to us.

No matter what you face this week, God’s given you His Spirit to guarantee His gifts.