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Learning to Think Like the Holy Spirit

Learning to Think Like the Holy Spirit

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The Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus.

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The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. (Job 33:4)

I have more than four decades of practice at thinking small. It has taken a work of the Holy Spirit to get me to look behind just what I see at my eye level. I’ve felt an active work—a persistent reminder—to stop leaning on my own understanding (see Proverbs 3:5). The Lord has been saying, “Okay, enough of thinking like you, Amy. Start practicing thinking like Me.” When I realize I’m applying my own understanding, instead of feeling guilty, it has become quite the relief. When I remember I’m not in charge or in control—not the one responsible to figure out absolutely every potential scenario and what-if—I nearly laugh out loud in joy.

There is immense freedom in being able to turn to the Holy Spirit and ask, “What do You think?” Like a fresh wind blowing in, I take a second and breathe deeply of His wisdom. I meditate on the impossibilities He can pull off, and focus my gaze on what He can do that I can’t possibly achieve myself. There are times I want to scream from the mountaintop, “I don’t have to figure it out all by myself! Hallelujah!”

To actively turn to God with a feeling, circumstance, or relationship is one of those paradigm shifts of faith. When we do that humbly and expecting an answer (also called faith), I believe it makes the Lord very happy. What parent, pleased with his or her children, wouldn’t respond with enthusiasm? Because it is God, He will also provide over and above what is needed—immeasurably more than we can ask or think (see Ephesians 3:20).

When you apply this renewal of your mind—to ask for the Holy Spirit’s thoughts—it becomes the moment when the blinders come off. It is then you start to experience life with much more color, goodness, and wonder; and you will never want to put the blinders back on. When you give over to the truth that the almighty God has given you a life to live and is helping you to do it His way, it will wake you up to grab hold of bigger, better, and higher thoughts and ways.

I know this seems a very simple act in a world that values complicated thought. Still, when it is all you, you are all you have. When it is all God, you have infinite resources at your disposal. The more you turn to the Holy Spirit, the more you develop a secure, ridiculous, and joyful hope that everything is possible. I am close with some people whose very lives testify to this reality. My own life is marked by miracles. He has been there for me; He made me. Even when I thought I didn’t have much to say about God, I see I wouldn’t be here without His remarkable life-giving Spirit in me and keeping me close.

He is ready and willing—being the giver He is—to fill, refill, restore, and refresh. He is anxious to help, if I could use such a term. He wants to release His life into mine. It is that fresh wind of Himself that keeps me in line with His way. He raises my eyes to the hills to see “my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Ps. 121:1–2).

Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit. Give me the life Jesus promised full of abundance, and that is dependent on You and not myself. Help me to practice engaging with You in every situation and trusting Your insight and resources. In Jesus’ abundant name, amen.

Thought

In what situation today can you practice asking the Holy Spirit for His understanding and wisdom?

Group Discussion

1. What situations in your past have you thought little of?

2. What did the Lord do in the midst of that to expand your thinking about Him or His promises?

3. Given this verse comes from the book of Job and a larger context of a believer in a season of suffering, what impact does that realization have on your own suffering seasons?

Did you enjoy this entry? It’s an excerpt from Third Person: Thirty Days with the Holy Spirit by Amy Vogel. “God exists in relationship and wants us to enter into relationship with Him, where we discover who we really are. Third Person is a thirty-day journey into a greater understanding of the Holy Spirit—this little-known person of the Trinity. As you gain understanding, you will see your life take on more meaning, color, and direction than you ever thought possible.” Get it from our store here.

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