There are many benefits to receiving the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament Jesus told His disciples, ‘I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever.’ This Helper comes alongside us to strengthen, encourage, and advise us. When we feel discouraged, confused, and powerless we have access to a wise, compassionate, competent Helper who will show up to support us and supply us with what we need. So instead of struggling to do everything alone, we need to learn to lean on Him, trust His power, and ask Him to do His mighty work in us. Paul tells us, ‘Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness’ (Galatians 5:16 MSG). We all have desires to do things that aren’t godly. It’s a constant battle between our spiritual side and our human side. And we can’t win that battle by ourselves. Even with the best intentions, we’ll struggle to avoid temptation without God. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can live a godly lifestyle. Praying and taking our best guess isn’t God’s way. The Holy Spirit’s guidance – not our guesswork – should direct our lifestyle. The Bible says: ‘Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’. That means that because we have the Spirit in us, we have freedom. Freedom from addiction, temptation, and fear. The Spirit can help free us from the things we think we’re chained by. He can completely transform our whole life.

What Now?

Think of something that’s tempting you. Spend some time asking the Holy Spirit to work in you and change your lifestyle.