$%*&@!

“30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” (Ephesians 4:30-31 ESV)

We often lose track of the Holy Spirit, who He is, and that He is. Rage is all around us. You cannot turn on a television, something I rarely do other than to watch an occasional movie or sports game without seeing protesting, violence, and rage. Try and drive on the highway. All around you is road rage. There is a disregard for safety and sometimes inciteful violence. The same occurs when looking at the news, violence, protest, war, deception, and greed.

We forget about the indwelling of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives in you. Paul assures of this in 2 Timothy 1:14, where he wrote, “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

We forget about the Spirit who grieves when we act contrary to God’s will. The Holy Spirit is a person of the Trinity. We know He is a person because He can grieve; impersonal forces cannot grieve. Our rage is a disruption of the Holy Spirit that interferes with Christ’s church for whom the Spirit intercedes.

In our rage or anger, the Spirit still intercedes for us. Paul also wrote in Romans 8:26,“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Groanings are too deep for words. The phrase always strikes me deep in my heart because I realize the trauma my actions, contrary to God, take on the Holy Spirit. He groans for us, deep groans to God, pleading for us.

We all slip. We are humans and far from divine. The Spirit residing in us will convict us, and often, it is not pleasant. It can be a heartbreaking or humbling conviction. My point is that there are three people from Trinity, and often, we neglect one of them. The sad part is that the Spirit is probably the most active in our lives, guiding us, edifying us, and praying on our behalf. I always tell my children not to be too proud to ask for help when they need it. This goes for the Spirit as well, the Spirit is our advocate (John 14:15-16).

Do not hold on to anger, malice, or rage. Hatred stunts our growth; it is a spiral down to the way of the prince of the power of the air. These things will eat you from the inside out. They are an affront to God and against the teachings of Christ. Release them as these things are of the world. Forgive as you are forgiven. When you do, you will grow in Christ. Christ died that you might live, glorify Him as He glorified the Father.

Grace and Peace!