Yesterday I spent the afternoon in my front yard, planting a new garden of native Ohio perennials. My hope was to not only add beauty to our neighborhood, but also to bring life to our neighbors, mainly the flying type. My sister-in-law has been educating me on the ways that Ohio birds, butterflies, and pollinators benefit by having these local plants readily available to them. She explained that, as we have built homes and landscaped yards through the years, we have replaced native plants with non-natives. This incorporation of “imposter” plants has threatened our flying friends’ ability to thrive and even to survive as they have lost access to their most vital nutrient sources.
As I considered these and all garden plants, I couldn’t help but draw a few spiritual analogies.
- How many times do we people try to live on the food of lesser gods when our true Creator knows exactly what we need?
- Is it really even possible for us to survive, let alone thrive, without the Creator’s intimate involvement?
- Is there a way to open ourselves more to our Creator and participate in our own nourishment?
I certainly have been guilty of filling my life and heart with imposters, little idols that might appear to nourish me at first, but that leave me wanting and maybe even desperately needing in the long run. I also have fallen prey to the deceiver’s lie that I can somehow make my own way in life. The truth is none of us can do anything apart from God. What serves me and all God’s creation best is to understand and abide in the true life He has made for us. And a closer relationship with His Spirit will empower us to do just that. So, how do we cultivate this openness to God’s love and power through the Holy Spirit? We recognize the Spirit’s role in communicating God’s plan; we let that knowledge fuel our love response to God and ongoing relationship with His Spirit; and we look for the rewards when trouble comes close and His Presence seems far from us.
The Holy Spirit’s Role
In a recent interview with author and podcaster, Annie F. Downs, author Margaret Feinberg reminded listeners that the Holy Spirit was Jesus’s parting gift to us, and Jesus sent Him to us to continually remind us of these essential truths of God:
- You and I are loved by God.
- You and I are heard by God.
- You and I are seen by God.
- You and I are a part of God’s Kingdom to be sent out.
“The Holy Spirit is nudging us toward living as the beloved (of God) to pour out as beloved,” Feinberg says. To that description, Pastor Tyler Staton, author of The Familiar Stranger, adds that the Spirit unites what we believe with what we experience. For example, Jesus taught His disciples many truths, often repeating them, about the Kingdom of God as He journeyed alongside them. They knew the lessons in their heads, but had a hard time comprehending them until the day of Pentecost. On that day, as they were filled by the Holy Spirit, and watched God’s power working in and through them, the Spirit reminded them of what they knew and believed and confirmed it all by their experience. The Spirit does the same for us. How many times have you read a promise of God in Scripture only to remember it as you witnessed His promise in action? In those moments, the Spirit is reminding us through experience of what we already know and believe from His word.
Our Holy Spirit Response
Knowing the Holy Spirit’s role in our lives also helps us see its power. And that constant flow of His power is something I want to cultivate, not block. I love to burn candles in my home and breathe in their beautiful aromas. But my candles are not eternal. When the fuel source runs out, the flame goes away. The Spirit’s flame is eternal, burning within me from the moment I received God’s gift of salvation. How powerfully the flame burns, however, is largely dependent on how much I cultivate it. Will I fan it, or will I hide it? I want to fan the flame!
How? By intentionally seeking relationship. The Spirit within my soul is God within me, a living, active Being, my Creator, my Savior, my Life. I cultivate my relationship with Him by communicating with Him every day. Author John Eldredge suggests starting with just five minutes a day, loving Him for who He is and what He does. Soon, we’ll see that five minutes expand into other parts of our day, as we are driving, brushing our teeth, and cooking dinner. No gardener plants an entire field all at once, but by one seed at a time. Similarly, a continual presence with the Spirit is cultivated moment by moment. But what happens when the relationship feels dry? When troubles seem to be looming large and the Spirit seems silent?
Pursue the Spirit, See Rewards
Two truths exist when it comes to trouble: it’s inevitable in this broken world, and our good, good Father is sovereign over it all. That is not to say that God brings the trouble, but that He works His goodness in the midst of it. There are days when trouble is all we can see, whether it be a major health issue, financial concern, a struggling child, or a difficult relationship. Connecting with God in these seasons may feel difficult, even elusive. What do we do? Stay the course. Keep intentionally seeking that relationship with Him. Keep loving Him where you are in whatever condition you find yourself. If you can’t pray for yourself or read His word, ask others to do it for you. I know you will find new rewards as you do. I’ve learned that through personal experience.
When our son passed away, I felt like I’d never breathe normally again, let alone see joy. I desperately needed the Spirit to remind me of God’s truth, that He loved me. He saw me. He held me. He heard me. He was working even this situation for good. I didn’t feel any of that truth in the early days of grief. But over time, God not only helped me breathe steadily, and rediscover joy, but He also showed me new depths of Himself, His character, and His purposes. I know my Savior better now than I did before my son died. Do I wish I’d never lost my son? Absolutely! Do I see rewards – namely, a deeper relationship with Jesus – cultivated through my loss? I certainly do. A rocky road traveled with God will reveal the heights and depths of God that we wouldn’t discover on smoother, simpler paths.
In Review
The Holy Spirit is as equal, available, and essential to us as our Father God and Lord Jesus. He guides us, reminds us, advocates for us, and comforts us. Not only can we open our minds to the Spirit, but we also must. If you haven’t been seeking relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit or recognizing the Spirit’s role in your life, start now. Love Him those five minutes a day that John Eldredge encourages and see how He adds to it. If you have been walking in relationship with the Spirit, keep cultivating it. Then, like the native plants in my perennial garden, we also can bloom where we’re planted and share the fragrance of Christ with the world.
— Linda R. Maynard for The Sublime Soiree © June 2025