Overshadowed

Overshadowed

The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Genesis 1:2

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

Luke 1:35

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8

Have you ever driven through thick fog—so thick you could barely see what was in front of you? Fog is basically a cloud that is close to the ground. In several places in the Bible, the presence and power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit is described as a cloud, like the cloud that led the Israelites in the desert and the bright, shining cloud that came down at the Transfiguration.

We get that sense of an enveloping cloud when we read the words the angel said to Mary—that the Holy Spirit would “come upon” her and “overshadow” her like a cloud. God, in the person of the Holy Spirit, would come over her and do a creative work in her womb, making new life.

We all desperately need the same thing—for the Holy Spirit to come upon us and overshadow us. We need him to make new life where there is none, to bring light where there is darkness. We need the Holy Spirit to enter into the chaos of our inner thoughts, emotions, and desires and change us from the inside out. We can’t create new spiritual life on our own. We need the power of God to work inside us so that Christ can be born in us.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What is it like to be in the middle of a cloud in the form of fog?

How is the Holy Spirit always involved in creating life?

In what ways do you need the creative power of the Holy Spirit to come upon you?