This is the wisdom of men: rely on yourself.
This is the wisdom from heaven: Rely on God and you’ll go further than yourself.
To the degree you rely upon yourself in ministry, you’re wrong.
In our natural selves, we rely on what we can do with our natural abilities. We are able to accomplish up to the level of what we can do on our own power. The stronger we are, the more we tend to rely upon ourselves, and we don’t tap into the power of God.
So long as you rely solely upon man, the Spirit of God cannot help you. “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him…” (1 Corinthians 2:13-14 NKJV).
When we grow in our spiritual life, we start to let go of what we can accomplish in our natural life. We turn to God and ask him to fill us with His Holy Spirit, to help us with what He would have us do. Never forget that He has you.
You need never plead for the Holy Spirit to fill you, but only ask. “…that He would grant you…to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man…that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:16,19 NKJV).
Our new spiritual life begins from our old natural life. We don’t start out spiritually mature, but we can most certainly get there so long as we’re willing to let the Spirit of God help us. Nobody can become spiritually mature using their own natural power.
Empty men rely upon the emptiness of man, but a saint should rely upon the Holy Spirit. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10 NKJV).
It takes humility to admit you can’t do it on your own, and that’s why it’s only humble people who can ever become spiritually mature. Spiritual maturity never puts you above another person; rather, it helps you to see yourself as you really are.
You can barely do one thing to the glory of God until you learn to walk in humility. “…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV).
The more spiritually mature you are, the more you will rely upon the Holy Spirit. Natural effort gets you nowhere in the spiritual realm. Let the Holy Spirit help you, so that you can accomplish anything for the kingdom of God.
In the natural order, as we mature, we are able to do more on our own. In the divine order, as we mature, we rely upon the Lord to do more through us. How far you reach depends upon which limit you rely upon. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10 NKJV).
When we rely on the Holy Spirit, He can accomplish more in our lives in two seconds than we could on our own in a thousand years. We can accomplish more in our morning prayers than we do with the striving throughout the entire day. Why are we in such a rush?
The Holy Spirit can accomplish more in two seconds than you can in a lifetime, so why are you striving so hard? Jesus promised, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power” (Acts 1:8 CEV).
There is a divine order of things whereby we discover prayer is more effective than our efforts. This is because our efforts rely upon ourselves, whereas prayer relies solely upon God. “Who among you fears the Lord? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God” (Isaiah 50:10 NKJV).
When you rely on the Holy Spirit, you don’t have to worry about anything anymore. God can do anything, and when you’re relying on a God who can do anything, what are you going to worry about? You have peace when you rely on the Holy Spirit.
The greatest achievement in your Christian life is when you learn to rely entirely on God. “This is what the LORD says: ‘Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD’” (Jeremiah 17:5 NLT).
It takes time to learn how to rely on the Holy Spirit in everything. We are still in our flesh, and are most certain that we have to take care of things on our own. But then the Holy Spirit will remind you that He has you, and you can stop stressing out so much.
If you’re stressing about all you have to do, then you’re not relying on God. “Commit your way to the Lord [roll and repose each care of your load on Him]; trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) also in Him and He will bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5 AMPC).
When you rely on the Holy Spirit, you won’t be frustrated or angry about the things that are coming against you. You don’t have to fear what comes against you; those things have to fear the Holy Spirit that’s within you. There is no fear in the Holy Spirit.
You cannot be of any use to God as long as you rely upon yourself. He does not need your help, but you need His. Get this right, and nothing is impossible for you, because it is all Him. “But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion” (2 Timothy 4:17 NKJV). You know the Spirit of the Lord is moving mightily in you when being delivered from the mouth of a lion is but a side note.
When you rely on the Holy Spirit, you will set your goals based on the call of God and not based on the obstacles that stand before you. You won’t be looking for the easy way out but the hard way in, to do everything that God is telling you to do.
You cannot fail so long as you rely solely upon the One Who never can. “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4 NKJV).
When you rely on the Holy Spirit, some of your decisions won’t make any sense to people around you. They can’t understand you because they’re operating from a natural perspective, not a spiritual one. In their world, they’re doing everything on their own.
Gimmicks are the Devil’s tools meant to divert you from relying upon the Holy Spirit. The more you rely on God, the better off you’ll be. “O Lord of hosts, how blessed and greatly favored is the man who trusts in You [believing in You, relying on You, and committing himself to You with confident hope and expectation]” (Psalm 84:12 AMP).
It doesn’t matter if people understand you, but only if God is helping you. God doesn’t help the ones that help themselves; God helps the ones that rely on Him. The more you rely on Him, the further you will go and the more you will accomplish for the kingdom.
If you rely on your own clever mind, the limit of what you say is you. But when you rely on the Spirit, you tap into the limitless power of God. Jesus taught, “…do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:11-12 NKJV). Your worrying exposes your source.
We have to remind ourselves to rely on the Holy Spirit every time something in the natural is staring us in the face. We have to tell the natural that we have the supernatural Spirit of God inside us. What are we going to worry about then?
We must keep our faith focused on the unseen, even when the seen is staring us right in the face. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NKJV).
I have learned that my weakness is my greatest strength, because it causes me to rely upon the Holy Spirit in everything that I do. We are all weak, if we would only admit it. So just admit it and then ask the Holy Spirit to help you.
God chooses the foolish and the weak because they rely on His wisdom and strength. “But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty]” (1 Corinthians 1:27 AMP).
If you would rely on the Holy Spirit, everything in your life will change. It’s not that every problem will be solved, but you will be helped through the problems by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we rely on Him, we can count on Him to help us do the will of God.
Holy Spirit, if it is by Your power, then it cannot be by mine. If I rely upon You, then I cannot remain dependent upon myself. The Lord Jesus said, “…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8 NKJV). Do I walk in the power of the words Christ proclaims, or am I limited by my own words of self-limitations? My limits are always dependent on who I depend upon.
Blessings to you always,
Paul Balius
Child of God, I pray that you would receive this message and think about it deeply. I pray you would search into every detail of your life, and with humility, ask yourself, in this thing, am I relying upon the Holy Spirit? He can only lead you when you’re willing to follow.
This post Paul has shared is written with such dire dependence on the wondrous Holy Spirit that the utmost importance of it cannot be overstated, dare I say, even by the super, splendorous Holy Spirit Himself. O blessed Holy Spirit, ever more of You, less of us!
Relying on the Holy Spirit changes everything!
In Praise For and Proclamation Of the Perimeterless, Preciousness of the Holy Spirit
Yes, blessed, wondrous, eternal Spirit of holiness and truth, immutable, mercifully, splendorously sent from heaven, the resurrection and the life, inimitably saving and sanctifying my spirit in vital, conscious union and intimate, abiding, worshipfully obedient love communion, as one Spirit/spirit with Yourself, Being the One Three-Person God, the Abba Almighty and His faultlessly faithful, ardent Amen, the Holy Trinity of cherishing, living Infinity.
Closer than the light emanates from the flame, than the waves intrinsically wash with the sea, than I am even contiguously to or essentially me, You are, therefore, I am. Your virtuous volition, Your idea, Your ideation, Your conception and celebration, Your creation of ingenious individuality and redemptive reality, as to spirit, soul, and soma, from before the foundation of the world, I am.
As my ceaselessly compassionate, constant Companion in Whom I live and move and have my being, never to forget me, neither fail me, nor forsake me, You surely sealed me for the celestial city, courtyards, and countryside, the holy, happy highlands of heaven hereafter. Your perfect workmanship, to that Perfect Day, I am in progress, exceedingly glad and everlastingly grateful to work out my salvation, stricken with reverent awe and trembling, because You work in me proficiently, preempting sinful self, so as both to will and to do of Your graciously good and perfect pleasure.
Beloved brethren, almost overly obvious to me is that what is true for me is absolutely, altogether true for you. Precious Holy Spirit, we love that You pour forth the love of the One Beautiful Triune God of all grace and all glory for us, in us, and through us to You and to our fellow man, and that we can worship wholeheartedly, whenever we so will, in the boundless beauty of Your beneficent Being.