“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…” (Eph 4:30)

The Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is a Person, who sees, listens, thinks and feels. Many people, even the believers, think of Him as an influence, as the power of God. The Holy Spirit is more than ‘a power’. He is a Person. You must cultivate a relationship with Him, as Friend to friend. Pray that your ears will be more sensitive to hear His voice, for He speaks to the churches and He speaks to you. Pray that your eyes will be sensitive to see Jesus on the throne by the revelation of the same Holy Spirit. Pray that your heart will be more sensitive to sense the presence and especially the move of the Holy Spirit. Pray that you may know how to invite and host the Person of God the Holy Spirit in your heart, your marriage, your home, your church and during times of worship. Your relationship with Him must grow, must mature. He has many things to share with you. I know for sure…

The danger with any relationships between lovers and friends is to take one another for granted, to grieve one another. In particular, we are warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit, or better said, to stop grieving the Holy Spirit.  The word ‘grieve’ means to make another sad. The offended friend feels a sense of loss, pain, regret and deep disappointment. A wise man said that ‘grief’ is a love word. You can only grieve your lover. You cannot grieve your enemy.

The best example I know is this: I heard of a story…there was a single mother who had a daughter. They were poor. Her hands had deep scars and some of the fingers were lost. Because of her disability she could not have good jobs, so they ‘managed’ their lives like that. They both loved one another very much. When the daughter became 18 they decided to organize a birthday party. The daughter was very excited. She invited all her school friends. The mother baked and decorated the birthday cake. All was ready. Then just before the guests started coming, the daughter brought a pair of fancy gloves. She told the mother that she bought them so that she can put them on during the party. She was afraid that her friends will see the mother’s ugly hands and run away.

This is what I called grieving. The mother just discovered that her loving daughter was ashamed of her hands; that she valued the opinions of her friends more than her feelings. Please think of this story…and feel what the mother felt…then you shall understand that in this way we can grieve the Holy Spirit, our Lover, our Best Friend Forever, our Peace, our Joy and our God. Selah!

The story is not yet finished…the mother did not say anything. She planned to put on the gloves but at the last minute she forgot them in the kitchen. She came in carrying the beautiful cake, candles on and all. She was so happy for her daughter…Suddenly the party went cold…the laughter stopped…they cut the cake in a hurry and soon, all her friends found excuses and left. The daughter was heartbroken. Alone, mother and daughter cried. The daughter asked the mother, why did she forget the gloves? That her friends ran away when they saw her hands. That is when the mother told her the truth: She was a baby when the house went on fire. Her father died in that fire. They rescued her, the mother, but she ran back into the burning house to save her baby. That is how her hands got burnt. That is how she became a single mother. Knowing the truth, the daughter wept for her selfishness and kissed the scarred hands that saved her life.

How do you grieve the Holy Spirit? By ignoring Him…by not studying His Word…by taking glory for things He has done for you…by living in sin without any desire to repent… by being proud and rebellious…God forbid!

What you read is just a story, but it reveals the love of God and the sacrifice of the Cross. Jesus died that I may live. His hands still have the scars, even in heaven, as a reminder for the price paid for my soul. To grieve His Spirit is a wicked crime against true eternal love. May God help us to be more sensitive to the feelings of the Holy Spirit! This is my prayer today! In Jesus name, Amen!