Experiencing God's Presence #172

Experiencing God's Presence #172

Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

John 20:22

The resurrected Jesus surprised a gathering of disciples with His Presence, and they gathered around Him in joy. He declared their mission: “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you” (John 20:21). Then He breathed on them and made a startling statement: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

That isn’t a startling statement to us because we have a couple of millennia of church history behind us to contemplate the gift of the Spirit. But to disciples who knew that God’s Spirit was with Moses, Elijah, and Daniel—and not many people of lower profile—they had to marvel at the idea. More than that, they must have marveled at how they got such a Spirit. They didn’t have to go grab Him or jump through all the right hoops to appease Him. They simply had to receive Him. Like breath being drawn into lungs, the Spirit was available to anyone who had the urge to inhale. There was nothing to earn, but everything to gain.

We experience the Spirit the way He was first imparted—by simply receiving. Soaking in God’s Presence can often be far more effective for our growth and intimacy with God than acts of service or desperate prayers. Though pursuing Him is certainly appropriate at times, an attitude of quiet receiving is essential. God doesn’t always call us to come and get; He calls us to be still and know.

Spend some time soaking in God today. Be a passive recipient of the Spirit He offers. Don’t feel guilty about not making an effort; sometimes effort is counterproductive. Fulfill Jesus’ command: “receive.”

Spirit, I open myself to You. Flow into me. Let me inhale You fully. I receive You into my spirit so we can experience greater and greater oneness.