Read with me, ^“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” Ephesians 1:17

The thing is, the Holy Spirit is not sin conscious. He is Christ conscious. He testifies of Christ. If, when spending time with the Holy Spirit you are only aware of your shortcomings, you might need to quiet the self. Why? Because once you are saved, and receive the Holy Spirit, He convicts you of righteousness, and testifies of Christ. He is not occupied with what you do wrong; He is concerned with what Christ did right. He consistently and faithfully testifies of this. His role in your life is to bring peace, comfort, and joy, not affirmation of your capabilities. While the Holy Spirit will convict us of sin, it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance, not the awareness of your shortcomings. There is no salvation in self-awareness, no amount of knowing yourself can help you become better, the flesh does not possess the power and authority to eradicate flesh, that is a work you co-labor with the Holy Spirit to accomplish. The more we know and focus on Christ and the price He paid for us, the more we look on Him, the more we will transform into His likeness. Transformation will be lacking if we focus on ourselves. When we are preoccupied with our faults, sins, and shortcomings, the end result is despondency. When we focus on the ability we now have to overcome, due to His provision of authority, we gain hope once again. Let me tell you it is hard to function in the Spirit if we only see Him as a tool for self improvement. He is the one who reveals Christ to us. So we can know who we are. He is not the tool we use for barely acceptable superficial adjustments of our souls. Knowing who you are in Christ is what invigorates your heart to live life to the full. Knowing that He has the power to overcome everything you struggle with makes hope arise as you realize you have someone reaching out a hand to help.

^“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead…’’ Ephesians 1:17-20a

It’s a dangerously self absorbed road to measure His goodness according to my badness. Is He this good only because I am SO bad? Then His personhood and goodness only finds expression in how well acquainted I am with my own flesh and its insufficiency. We have to KNOW HIM, not ourselves. The simple gospel is about Him. He is good, always.  It is the goodness of God that leads to repentance, not how bad I can feel, not how bad I can realize I am, but when the Holy Spirit comes to convict of sin and righteousness, reminding me of Jesus’ work and words, it is His goodness that makes my stubborn hard heart relent to His leading, yielding self to the guidance of His Holy Spirit, who testifies that He loves me and that I am accepted, good enough for good works. Because He IS GOOD.

The Holy Spirit has a function. That function is to remind you of Christ. To call to mind what He has done on the earth. What was that? He died for our sins. Now, for a minute just let’s not focus on our sins, but on His death. His death brings life and freedom, and oneness with Him. But somehow we have relegated the Holy Spirit to being the convictor only. Yet in John 16 we read that the Holy Spirit convicts us of righteousness. What does that sound like? That sounds like, because of Christ (because He testifies of Christ, not YOU) sin and death no longer are your main concern, because they no longer have power over you. You have the authority to overcome.

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:26

 Pray with me, “Thank you Father, for every good and perfect gift that you have given me, especially the Holy Spirit. Thank you Holy Spirit for teaching and guiding me in all truth, the truth of who Christ is. I want to know You, I want to adore you, let me come to the full knowledge of Christ, help me to focus my thoughts on You.”