Does your soul tremble at the slightest stirring of the Holy Spirit? Keep listening to the voice of God and stay sensitive to what he says – don’t be deadened by sin!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and here we are in the middle of fall.
And I love this time of year, don’t you? I imagine the aspen groves along the front range of the Rockies – they’ve turned from green to golden. What a sight that is! I remember one autumn being in the mountains in early November and we turned a corner around a hill and – oh, my goodness – there was this hillside of beautiful yellow aspen leaves quivering in a mountain breeze. Looked like the whole mountain was moving. It seemed as though the whole hillside was glittering with light. I’d never seen anything like it before. You know, it’s amazing how a grove of aspens in the wind can shimmer like sequins, right? I know you’ve seen it. I guess that’s because aspen leaves are so delicate, they’re so small, their stems so fragile, they flutter at the slightest of breezes. Aspen leaves seem to tremble even when the air is barely moving, right? That’s how sensitive they are. And that’s a great analogy of the way that we respond to the Spirit of Christ in our lives, because I want so much to be that sensitive to the Spirit’s touch. A soul that is, in a way, fragile when it comes to sin, a heart that is super-sensitive to wrongdoing, that resonates at the slightest movement of the Spirit. I want a soul that quivers when the breath of God all but touches it. Like an aspen leaf, I want to tremble when God speaks. I want to hear it. When evil encroaches, I want to feel it. I want to know it. When sin drives the Spirit away, I want to do something about it!
So how do we become this sensitive? Well, it’s simple: when we sin, we do become hardened, don’t we, and calloused? We lose our sensitivity to things that are wrong. Our conscience becomes deadened and our hearts become immovable and hard. The book of Hebrews talks about this when it tells us to examine ourselves daily so that we do not become “hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” That’s right, sin is deceitful – it’ll tell you that it won’t really harm you; it won’t get you off track; it won’t really take your focus off Jesus. You can sin this little bit, and it won’t make a difference: that’s the way sin deceives us. And you know what? I don’t want to be that way, and I don’t think you do either. So the next time the Spirit moves and you feel his breath whispering, “Don’t do that” or “Don’t say that,” then please tremble. Listen, obey. Stretch out your branches; unfurl your heart to God. When the wind of the Spirit – which is so unpredictable and uncontrollable – when the Spirit moves your way, catch that breeze, be sensitive to his commands, to his Word.
That’s what I want to do, because just a couple of weeks ago, it was my birthday. And even though I’ve known Christ for quite a while, as I head into the months ahead, oh, I want to be a better “aspen leaf.” I don’t want to be old and tired like a dried-up leaf fallen to the ground. No, at my age I want to be more sensitive to the movement of God. I want to shudder when he speaks and keep my conscience, well, I think the best word is delicate, delicate and fragile when worldly temptations come beckoning. Oh, please, God – I pray – keep me from becoming “old” in my spirit. May my heart keep quivering at your touch.
And friend, I want you to join me. Ask God for a soul sensitive to sin. Pray that the Lord will make your soul tremble at the slightest stirring of the Spirit. Ecclesiastes 11 reminds us that “As you do not know the path of the wind so you cannot understand the work of God.” That’s true. But you can understand enough to be an aspen leaf when the path of God’s wind blows your way.
© Joni and Friends