THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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In our last devotion based on Romans 5:1-5 we hear about the way God works in, through, and around our tough and rough spots to bring us to full maturity.

Illustration

Have you ever seen the illustration where someone is challenged to place a bunch of stones and a large pile of sand into a jar that looks way too small for all of that material? 

As the volunteers try to put all the stones into the jar they struggle to get all of them to fit, but if they turn each one just so… success. But what about the sand? The sand can be added to the stones at the end and all of that loose material finds its own way down and around all the stones, filling all the space in the jar not occupied by the stones. 

Filling

I love using this illustration to point out the way in which the Holy Spirit joins with us in every part of our life, lifting us where we need strength, calming us where we need peace, and teaching us where we need wisdom and perspective. 

In our continued reading of Romans 5:1-5, the passage ends with a truth about the necessity of the Holy Spirit to be actively in us and at work if we are going to move from times of suffering into increased spiritual maturity and hope. 

Listen for the work of the Spirit as you read:

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

(Romans 5:1-5 NIV11)

Verse 5

In verse five we hear that our confident expectation that the Lord will make good on all that he has promised us (hope) will not disappoint us nor will it bring us into a place of shame. 

I love what the Lord spoke through the Prophet Samuel to the disgraced King Saul when Saul tore Samuels robe while having a tantrum, “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind” (1Samuel 15:29 NIV11).

The Lord does not lie. 

He is not like you and I. When the Lord speaks, it is a truth and a fact. There are not shades of right and wrong wit the Lord. What the Lord speaks, the Lord will see through. 

•   So when the Lord declares our eternal salvation and forgiveness of sin through the death and resurrection of the only begotten Son of God, it is a fact. 
•   When the Lord promises that we will be joined with him in the glory of God for all of eternity as children of God who stand in the righteousness and perfection of Jesus Christ, this too is fact. 
•   The Lord will not waste our faith and our trust in him. While we are in hard times we can trust the Lord to use our pain and our heartbreak for his glory and for our mission as ambassadors of Christ. 
•   The Lord will provide the child of God healing and freedom from all harm as we move from this broken life of sin into the sinless and perfect presence of the Living God. 

Spirit Poured Into Our Hearts

The promise of God to never leave you or abandon you, especially in the valley of the shadow of death, is a promise that the Lord has already and will continue to fill. 

In verse five we hear about this filling work of the Spirit as Paul writes, “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” 

The Holy Spirit is like the sand in our earlier illustration. Our ups and downs, good and bad, trials and successes are surrounded by the presence and work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit at work in us helps us to be a blessing to others when we are blessed and the Spirit lifts us and ministers to us when we are in distress. 

We need to embrace the work that the Lord does in our lives through the filling of his Spirit. 

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you for filling my life so completely with your presence. I submit my times of trial and pain to you and ask that your Holy Spirit would not only minister to my needs but enable me to be a blessing to others as I turn over all that I am in submission to you. I thank you that you are Faithful and True, a constant source of strength in my life. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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