Life in the Spirit: Part I

Admin
Sep 9
5 min read

Updated: Sep 18

Ps. 42:7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

There comes a time in most believers’ lives when we experience a deep longing for God. This usually occurs during a time of trouble or a season of strife. The deep part of us (our spirit) longs to be closer, nearer to the One who created us. If you are anything like me, you probably fall woefully short most days.

In Romans 8, Paul talks about the business of being led either by our flesh or by the Spirit of God. In Rom. 8:5-8, Paul discusses the differences between having our mind set on the flesh or having it set on the Spirit. His conclusion is that having a fleshly mindset will not serve us well in the long run, and I am certain that each one of us would prefer the better outcome. John 4:24 states that God is Spirit by nature, and those who would worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. But how do we get there?

What is Your Mindset?

In Colossians 3:2, Paul gives a directive to set our mind on things above. In the education field, which was my occupation for over 30 years, there has been a lot of discussion about mindsets. In a nutshell, our mindset is our core values and beliefs about how our world operates and the sense we are able to gain from it. Of course, the actual definition is much more complex than that, but this definition will suffice for our purposes here. (I hope you don’t mind.)

In Paul’s dialogue in Romans 8, he draws a contrast between having a flesh or ego-centric mindset and having a spiritual mindset that focuses on eternal matters. Living in the flesh, as Paul calls it, is certainly the much easier and familiar path to follow. It is something we are quite comfortable doing. However, having been born again, we can now live from our spirit with our mindset being transformed.

While it is not easy to set aside our fleshly desires and habits, it is possible through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our life. But that change begins with a desire. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that eternity has been deposited in our hearts by God. That is the reason for our longing to be near to him. It is the reason why deepest parts of me calls unto deep that can only be found in the depths of God. I like to think of it as being homesick for the place I know I belong.

An Inward Journey

So, where is my spirit? It is easy to identify which part of our being is our body. We can see it. We move it. We feel pain when it get injured. And most of us have some grasp on what our soul is. Our soul is our mind and emotions. It’s the part that makes me tick. It’s my logic and the attachment that I have for things. But my spirit? Now that’s a bit more difficult to explain.

Our spirit is not something that I can hold in my hand. It’s not something I can find on a map. A doctor cannot use a scan to define its location, and yet it is inside of us somewhere. In Genesis 1:26, before man was created, God said, “Let us make man in our image.” Since God is Spirit, this is the part of us that is like him. Our spirit then, having been born again at salvation, is how we connect with God. It is within that holy place inside every believer that our God dwells just as Jesus promised in John 14:23. Our challenge is to learn how to meet with him there.

Getting There

Father’s desire is to fill this “Temple” with his glory and his presence in the same way that he did at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Father created man with a spirit so he could commune or fellowship with man on an intimate basis. Becoming one with man, the pinnacle of his creation, was Father’s ultimate goal. Adam, however, chose a different path, and his spirit died on that day. Man’s spirit was inaccessible, and man’s soul now functioned on a much lower level. Mankind’s ability to be one with God was lost.

Father’s desire and plan for man did not change, however. His plan was always to fill man’s spirit with his glory and presence, and through Christ that is possible. But before our spirit can be filled by God, it must first be emptied of self. The danger here is to overthink the process. We wonder how such a thing is accomplished. The Word says to come into his presence with thanksgiving our heart. Typically, we view this verse as going to a worship service at church, but it does not have to be that way. Jer. 29:13 says that we will find God when we search with all our heart, and that can be done anytime anywhere.

Going Deep

This concept of an inward journey for worship has never been well known in the Church. There have been very few exceptions throughout history, and yet this has proven to me to be the most valuable of experiences. There is no set process, no magical incantation, or mystical machination that must be performed to find and enter your spirit. This is a deliberate action, a solemn exercise, and a purposeful endeavor. It will require diligence and determination. It will involve trial and error. It will entail practice and failure, but it will yield a new and deeper relationship with our God. So, how do we begin?

We begin slowly by deciding that this is something we want to try. The Word says in Hebrews 11:6 that God rewards those who diligently seek him. If we seek to come near to God, he will come near to us. That is promise made in James 4:8, and I can testify that this is truth. Having made the decision to seek God on a deeper level, we set aside time to do so. As we begin, it is best to find a quiet place with few noise and visual distractions. Once there, quiet your mind. These are your active thoughts, and it will take some time to quiet them until you become accustomed to the process. You will have passing thoughts as your mind struggles to quiet itself. Just let those thoughts pass through. Don’t struggle against them but instead focus your attention on the desire of your heart – God himself. It may help at this time to pray or meditate on a favorite Scripture or a memory of a time when you have experienced God’s presence in a powerful way. Recalling God’s Word and past victories is a good place to start.

After you have quieted yourself before God, simply wait and listen. Father will meet you in that place, and you will know his voice because you have heard it before. This may only last for a few seconds or maybe a minute before your own thoughts interrupt this intimacy but don’t quit. Don’t leave this holy ground. Quiet your mind once again and rejoin your Father. He has been waiting for this moment for a very long time. He delights in us, and we delight in his presence.

I urge you to take the plunge into the depths of our God. You will never be the same again.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®