The Holy Spirit

For this week's spiritual thought, I'm going to stick with basics, and talk about the Spirit.

As one of the Godhead, the Spirit may be the most difficult to understand. The scriptures are vague as to what exactly it is (as compared to the Father, and the Son), but we definitely know what the Spirit does.  We know that it doesn't have a physical body, so it can touch each of us directly and testify of truth.

My church often describes the impact of the Holy Spirit as a burning bosom. Such as in: "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" (Luke 24:32) 

I have felt this feeling many times, and when it happens, it's unmistakable. It's like the heavens opening up and everything coming together. It does indeed feel like a burning within the heart or bosom. Everything suddenly makes sense, and the truthfulness is evident.

Why is the Spirit necessary? Because left to our own devices, there is no way for us to learn all truth. Science and logic are excellent tools is searching for the truth, but even these tools are limited in areas beyond our understanding. This is where the Spirit comes in. 

All we have to do is to reach out, ask questions, and then listen, and then the Spirit can inspire us. The Spirit is often described as a still small voice. If one is too loud or too rigid in their own smartness, then it is easy to miss the Spirit entirely.

The Spirit is also likened as a dove -- peaceful. (I'd say quiet, but the doves at our house go COO, COO, COO all day long when they're around.) At Jesus' baptism, all three members of the Godhead make an appearance. The Son is baptized. The voice of the Father speaks. And the Holy Spirit manifests like a dove.

Jesus also refers to the Spirit as the Comforter -- a gift to mankind after his own physical death. As people pray to God, the Spirit helps to provide the answers, which also provides comfort.

I could go on and on, but I think that if we have felt the Spirit at any time, we know what it feels like. We also know its consistency. We know when it doesn't touch us, and it's unmistakable when it does touch us. And it's always a peaceful feeling -- or at least it is most of the time. We should always strive to listen for this Spirit, and when we get the promptings, we should strive to act accordingly to those promptings. If we do so, then we should already know that things will turn out well, and we can have courage to do what's right.

I know I'm not perfect and sometimes I forget to seek out the Spirit, or I'll go on my own path, but on the most part, I try to follow, and when I do, things do indeed turn out well.