From “Everything Good about God is True: Choosing Faith” by Bruce Reyes-Chow
The Spirit does a multitude of things: compels us into action when we need prodding, reminds us of the presence of God when we forget, and invites us into places we might not go on our own but where we meet God more fully. The Spirit is the inspiration and sustenance that fills our hearts, our bodies, and our souls with energy. The Spirit is God’s persistent prompting and prodding for us to grow into who God wants us to be.
At times the Spirit is compelling, speaking to us beyond our rational ways of thinking, beyond the voice in our head that says we can’t, or we shouldn’t, or we daren’t. The Spirit’s message to our souls are often beyond explanation and sometimes beyond rationality. The Spirit manifests itself by unapologetically moving our minds, hearts, and souls to do something new. In these moments, the prompt is not simply “Would you like to do this?” or “Have you considered that?” It’s much more urgent than that. The Spirit inspires us to work not off our timeline but God’s. When the Spirit moves, we move.
At other times the Spirit is a gentle nudge to go forth – a longing for the beautiful and the true, an urge toward the good. The Spirit shows up when we need encouragement, or a loving nudge to get us over that hump of resistance, apathy, worry, and anxiety. The Spirit often offers that last little bit of encouragement when we are hesitant about going into a new space or getting to know new people or starting to serve the world in a new way. The Spirit gives us the gentle push we need to enter into the possibilities that God is revealing.