Don't Quench the Spirit

Good Evening to all!

Devotion taken from "Hearing from God Each Morning" by Joyce Meyer

Do not quench (suppress or subdue) the [Holy] Spirit.
(1 Thessalonians 5:19)

The verse for today tells us not to quench the Holy Spirit. I believe one way we quench the Spirit is through complaining. We need the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, and the more we choose to stop complaining and be thankful ( the opposite of complaining), the more freedom the Holy Spirit has to work in our situations. It's natural to complain; it's supernatural to give thanks when we are tested and tried in the midst of life's circumstances.

People who grumble and complain do not hear God because to hear Him, they have to stop complaining! It took me years to discover this truth! I grumbled and complained and murmured and found fault with everything and everyone, and then was jealous because everyone around me was hearing from God and I wasn't!

"why isn't anything good happening to me?" I groaned. Dave (Joyce's husband) kept telling me "Joyce, good things aren't going to happen in our lives until you stop getting upset every time things don't go your way."

Then I would be angry with him for telling me that and I would snap back: "you just don't know or care how I feel!"

The problem was that I cared too much about how I felt and not enough about God's promise to help me. God offers to help us in our trouble and show us what to do if we remain patient (keep a good attitude) during our trials. Complaining opens a door for the enemy, but thanksgiving and gratitude open a door for God.

God's Word for you tonight: Do not quench the Holy Spirit by complaining.

I have never heard it put quite this way, but it does make sense. I always thought of quenching the Spirit as being "not doing what God tells you to do during a worship service for example praising Him by lifting hands, clapping, shouting to the Lord and this type of thing. At least until now. She makes a good point. You cannot hear what the Spirit is telling you to do if you are grumbling, whining about circumstances instead of praying about them, or thinking about your problems or what you want to do after church rather than focusing on God. Now let me say I know that a lot of you may not go along with the "demonstrative side of worship" and that's ok. You have your own way of praising Him and "worshiping in the Spirit". The main thing I think that Joyce and I are both trying to say is to be obedient to the Spirit, do what it tells you to do. To do this you must be able to hear it in you spirit in the first place and you can't do that if you aren't focusing on HIM. You cannot focus on Him if you are thinking about how big your problems are instead of How big God is and that He can handle any problem. You cannot focus on Him if you are thinking about your bills, where you are going to eat after church or anything else except for HIM. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. This does not necessarily mean to continually pray. After all, you can't do that at work, as you have to concentrate on your job or get fired. What it means is to be in a "spirit" of prayer. Think about God's Word, people who need your prayers, and even that verse about "think on things that are lovely, pure and of good report (paraphrasing). These are all things God finds loving and prayerful. That is being in a spirit of prayer. At the same time you are focusing on His will, which is definitely NOT quenching the Spirit, yet it won't get you in trouble at work or school. Of course if you want to lift your hands to Him, or praise Him out loud, I'm sure He would enjoy that also.A

According to Romans 8:14, Obedience to the Holy Spirit is a mark of Sonship. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. According to Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are no under the law. (Moses law).

Good Night and May God Bless!