The Spirit is not my genie in a bottle

This morning I asked my husband to pray when giving thanks for our food that I would have the self-control to eat properly that day. Since the source of self-control is the Holy Spirit, I wanted to be filled with Him instead of letting my appetites dictate things to me, like it is okay to eat dessert when my stomach is already full.

Within an hour, the Lord speaks to me through Tozer. He says, “Let us never pray that we may be filled with the Spirit of God for secondary purposes.”

This is a mild rebuke. I’m not to think that the Spirit of God is my servant when it should be the other way around! As Tozer writes, God wants to fill me with His Spirit in order that I know Him and am absorbed in Him. His purpose is that in the fullness of the Spirit Jesus Christ will be glorified in me. My attitude should be like the psalmist who declared:

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:1–3)

It is not wrong to ask God for help, even for help with personal issues like a sweet tooth, or any other form of self-absorption. He delights in our humble requests and knows that we cannot fulfill our calling without Him, yet as today’s devotional reading says, the major purpose of the Holy Spirit is to lift my mind to new ideals and give me “conceptions of things so much in advance of our present experiences” that I long for higher ground, not merely that my waistline still fits my clothes.

In other words, by wanting self-control or any other fruit of the Spirit, like love, peace, joy and gentleness, my motivation should go beyond the warmth and good feelings that fruit produces in me. Instead of being selfish about it, God wants that fruit to feed and nourish the lives of others. The tree never eats its own fruit; it merely displays it. The eating is for others.

Last night we were hosts to another couple who join us in praying for our families. I’ve been thinking that I am not a natural hostess who thinks of the needs of my guests, but last night we were blessed by our Bible study and prayer time. My heart was thrilled at the Lord’s teaching and I found myself taking care of my guests without any effort. When the Spirit comes in, selfishness and self-effort go out.

How does this apply to that prayer request to my hubby? It was a self-centered catering to my vanity. How can I ask him to pray that the Holy Spirit will give me what I need so I can be more self-centered and vain? Duh.

^^^^^^

Jesus, Your patience is incredible, as usual. In my desire to stay thin or be thinner, I’m focused only on me. But when my focus is on You and Your glory, I will have what I need for that, and all the side benefits that the fruit of the Spirit gives, the joy for others becomes my joy as well. The peace and love for others warms my heart too, as does patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and even self-control. Keep my desires, hungers and thirsts centered on You, knowing that You will take care of whatever else I need.