But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. John 14:26 NIV
Connecting with the Holy Spirit can seem mysterious, difficult, strange, or even hard to believe. But, I don’t think God wants it to be that way. I think God would like our relationship with the Holy Spirit to feel both natural and miraculous. But, how do we get to that point?
If we want to improve any relationship in our life, we usually start by learning more about the other person. Our understanding helps us relate to them better and can encourage us to interact with them more often. Lately, I have been applying this logic to my relationship with the Holy Spirit by working to increase my knowledge about him. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
The Holy Spirit is the third member of what is called the Godhead–a trinity of God the Father, God the son (Jesus Christ), and God the Spirit. He indwells or lives permanently inside anyone placing their faith in Jesus and seals God’s promise for eternal life. Sent after Jesus ascended to heaven, he serves as the believer’s helper. As the very presence of God within us, the Holy Spirit guards, comforts, encourages, and counsels us.
But, the Holy Spirit’s activity is also limited when we do not live the way God wants. By knowingly doing what is wrong, we choose not to reflect the Spirit in our actions. The Holy Spirit is suppressed, diminished, or “grieved” by our sin (Ephesians 4:30).
As we work on living a more Christlike life, our awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence heightens. For example, he may help us gain understanding from a sermon message, Scripture, or song. He might prompt us to pray or to help someone. He could bring unexplainable peace into a stressful situation or use someone to encourage us at the right time. These “holy coincidences” happen when the indwelling Spirit connects with us in manifested or revealing ways.
So, what if we learn about the Holy Spirit and try to live faithfully by God’s commands, but we still don’t feel connected to him? What else can we do? I have noticed the times in my life when I have felt closer to the Holy Spirit have some things in common. Let me explain with a story:
Connect with the Holy Spirit in still, quiet moments
Last month, my husband and I took a once in a lifetime trip to Europe to do some traveling with our son, who was studying abroad. While in Switzerland, we rode a train (pictured above) from the town of Zermatt to the summit of Gornergrat for a view of some of the highest peaks in the Alps, including the Matterhorn.
As our train climbed high up the mountain, we traveled past lakes, through tunnels, over long bridges, and next to deep ravines. I was struck by the beauty surrounding us and how surreal it all seemed. As I looked out the window, a Scripture came to mind and started playing on repeat.
I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from GOD, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains. Psalm 121:1 MSG
My heart was reminded: God made all of this. All of this big world. He is powerful, amazing, and yet, he loves little ‘ol me in the middle of it all. He watches over me now on this trip…and always. The Holy Spirit uses still, quiet moments to teach and remind us of things we need to know.
Connect with the Holy Spirit in true self moments
Once we reached the summit, we disembarked with our fellow global travelers. After taking in the magnificent view, I turned my attention to the other tourists. I saw a teenage girl holding up the Swiss chocolate bar, Toblerone, while her friend snapped multiple photos of her posing in front of the Matterhorn. Then, I noticed a young couple sipping coffee at the café with their shoes and socks off, clearly warmed by love and deep in conversation. A middle-aged, somewhat chubby man climbing the snowy hill in front of me hammed it up for his friends. Upon reaching the top, he peeled off his shirt and began yodeling. He asked me to try it too. For the record, I declined.
These are just people being people. They are enjoying who they are, worry free and living in the moment. Our pure moments in life are ripe for connecting with the Holy Spirit. When our protective walls go down and we show our true selves, the Spirit reminds us of our unique talents and even prods us to discover our spiritual gifts.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 1 Corinthians 12:4 NLT
The Holy Spirit decides upon and calls out spiritual gifts such as teaching, serving, encouraging, leading, and giving to serve God and his people. These gifts help us fulfill our purpose on earth for God. When we freely express our authentic selves, the Holy Spirit helps us realize who we are, what we love, and how to serve God well.
Connect to the Holy Spirit in lost or unsure moments
On the train ride back down the mountain, we got off halfway to do some hiking. The tourist information center told us the trail would be well-marked and lead us right into town. We soon discovered otherwise. We saw the signs, but the arrows for our town of Zermatt pointed in different directions. And, as we traveled some of the signs actually showed the time for arrival increasing instead of decreasing! We were, unfortunately, also without water because we did not think it would take us very long to hike down the mountain.
Now, it would make a good story to tell you that the Holy Spirit rescued us. That he swept us up in a gentle wind and delivered us safely down the mountain. But, no that’s not really how it happened. Google Maps led us over some snowbanks, around a stream, under a cable car lift and finally back into town. What can I say, sometimes we also thank God for working cell service and technology.
Seriously though, when life gets hard and we feel lost or unsure, the Holy Spirit leans in a bit closer to guide us.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 NIV
The Holy Spirit helps us pray when we cannot find the words. He arranges for people and circumstances to help us. He calms us when life is overwhelming. If we do our part to ask the Holy Spirit to lead us in doing what God wants us to do, he will fill us with peace and lead us through trials.
Mesh with the Track of the Holy Spirit
After our time in Switzerland, I learned a bit more about the train we rode. The train going up to view the Matterhorn is called a cogwheel train. Cogwheel trains operate on rack and pinion railways, otherwise known as toothed racked rails. Their wheels have “teeth” which interlock or mesh with grooves on the railway tracks. This type of design gives the train a strong grip to climb steep grades, which is why most cog railways are found on mountains.
A healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit operates like a cog railway, don’t you think? If we get to know the Holy Spirit, follow his lead to obey God, and look for ways to connect with him, then the wheels of our lives line up or mesh with his tracks.
As we travel with the Holy Spirit, he becomes more evident in our lives by filling us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control–all the fruit of his presence (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV). When we get to know him better, we trust him and readily ask him for help when there are mountains to climb, bridges to cross, and valleys to visit. The Holy Spirit connects us to God’s hope…and it feels both natural and miraculous.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NIV
Press on in faith, my friends! ~Jamie
Related Posts:
Making Pie with the Holy Spirit
Inspiring Resources:
About Spiritual Gifts: https://www.gotquestions.org/spiritual-gifts-list.html
About Roles of the Holy Spirit:
https://www.gotquestions.org/what-does-the-Holy-Spirit-do.html
About the Cog railway to view the Matterhorn: https://www.zermatt.ch/en/Media/Attractions/Gornergrat
A YouTube video featuring photos of the train and Matterhorn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpQ6ij4pXvM
I am really touched by your message…. Holy Spirit is soo sweet❤️
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Just what I needed to read
Great, so glad to hear that!
I enjoyed reading your story. I desire to connect with Holy Spirit but have been confused as to how to do it. Your story helps me to understand a little more. Thank you.
Thanks for commenting Pearl. I’m so glad my story encouraged you. Each person’s relationship with the Holy Spirit is truly as unique as their own fingerprint. That desire to connect with him is a big step toward building that relationship! Press on in faith.
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This is my desire, to surrender myself to the power and path of the Holy Spirit. I appreciate your images. May the Holy Spirit lead you as you continue to write! Blessings!
Thanks for stopping by the blog, Melissa! I’m glad you enjoyed your “virtual visit” to the Matterhorn! May the Holy Spirit live and work thorough us both more and more. Looking forward to staying in touch!
The cogwheel train is a great picture of the abiding in Christ–walking with the Holy Spirit. Thanks for your insight, Jamie!
Thanks for your comment, Linda! I’m so grateful for this big world and the opportunities God gives us to learn about him. Cogwheel trains were new to me. Hope you’re enjoying summer!