From Temple of Doom to a Temple of the Spirit
Do you not realize that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? (1 Corinthians 6:19)
But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
My battle with my body began at the ripe age of 14. "Have you weighed yourself lately, you look like you may have put some weight on?" Ten pounds in fact. It was that moment that the enemy wedged himself into that opening and created for me an identity where I measure myself by a number on a scale. In two months there is a different number of measure that will settle upon me. 50. Yes, I am turning the big 5-0. A moment where many people allow the enemy to come and whisper lies and wreak havoc. Thank the Lord that this approaching number and measure are not controlling my mindset.
“'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. '” — Jeremiah 29:11.
This promise of our Lord has become an internalized truth for me. This morning my morning contemplation with the Holy Spirit (something I affectionately refer to as 'free association') brought to me the delivered truth of this promise. This past weekend I spent sixteen hours toiling in our garden. Not putzing, toiling: bending, stooping, pulling, pruning, digging, mowing, sweating, sweating, sweating). This morning the Spirit reveals a beautiful truth; I am sore but standing. Let me share some context. It has been over 20 years since I have been physically able to engage the garden the way I did this weekend. I have lived a life of physical kerfluffles. At 30 I blew a disk in my neck and back. It took 2 years before I could even begin weeding the garden for short durations. At 33, a torn meniscus. 38? A dislocated patella with microfracture of my femur. At 42 I tore my deep abdominal muscle and hip muscle and repeated that injury 3 more times over the next 2 years. At 45 I broke my foot and at 46 tore the ligaments in the front of my shoulder. 48 brought Covid down to bear on me, twice. The enemy may continue to lie and divert me with the number that flashes on my bathroom scale but the victory goes to the truth that the Holy Spirit reveals this morning: "Do you not realize that you are a temple of the Holy Spirit?" I'm finally beginning to!!! Believe it or not, the above litany of ailments have not required any surgical intervention. This is a miracle! I am physically stronger than I was when I was 30, 35, 40. That is a miracle! God is good! Amen! If we are baptized, we are indeed temples of the Holy Spirit. Period. How He resides in us is the game changer. We can keep Him locked away in some inner sanctum while we run around trying to maintain control. OR, we can set Him free. Truth and reality are unchanging, "You are a temple of the Holy Spirit." The experience of that truth is subject to change based on how we choose to live that reality. Up until a few years ago my perceived age exceeded my biological age, my litany of ailments limited me regularly. The Holy Spirit was locked away.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:36)
Five years ago I went from being baptized with the Spirit to being baptized in the Spirit. By God's grace I unlocked the inner sanctum and set the Spirit free. I am in capable hands going into this next milestone. Spend some time in free association with the Spirit. Let Him show you ways that His indwelling Spirit has allowed you to be a living miracle.