A new start – Day 17

Some time ago, I received an e-mail with a link to this video clip . In the video, we are introduced to the, then, 29-year-old Sarah Churman from Texas. She was born deaf and after an operation, in which a high-tech hearing aid was implanted into her hearing canal, a nurse switches on the hearing aid so that she can hear sound clearly for the first time in her life. Needless to say, it is a proper tearjerker.

Do you realise that sometimes we too, like Sarah, go through life deaf. Not deaf in the sense that we cannot hear sounds, but deaf to the voice of the Holy Spirit. He wants to talk to us daily, but if we do not invite him into our lives, we cannot discern his voice.

Similarly, we can go through life being blind. Not blind in the sense that we cannot see, but blind to God’s miracles around us. In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul warns us that the enemy places a veil over our eyes to blind us, so that we do not see the light of the gospel.

Are you struggling to hear God’s voice or to see his goodness at work around you? Listen to Jesus’ words in Luke 4:18 where he confirms why he came to earth: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Jesus cleansed us from our sins when he died on the cross for us. In addition, after his ascension, he gave us the Holy Spirit as a gift to comfort and guide us in every situation. When we invite the Holy Spirit to become a part of our lives, we might experience the same feeling Sarah did when we hear his voice or see God’s miracles for the first time.

Let us invite the Holy Spirit into our lives.