The Mystery of the Holy Spirit Pt. 1

 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

Genesis 1:1-2

The Holy Spirit is a mystery.  The kind of mystery that isn’t meant to be solved but to be lived and appreciated.  It leaves us in wonder, but it also leaves us wondering – what is the Holy Spirit?  What is the purpose of the Holy Spirit?  What is the Holy Spirit’s role in our faith journey?  

My hope is to write a series of short articles about the Holy Spirit – not with any certainty but just an exploration of the mystery of It.  Just to share what I believe about the Spirit and how the Spirit works in our lives.  And I really think the first place to start is in the beginning…

In Genesis 1, the Spirit is already there.  The Spirit doesn’t just show up at the Pentecost out of nowhere as tongues of fire.  It has always been.  In the beginning, the Spirit was there, helping to bring form out of the void.  Bringing order out of chaos.  Light out of the darkness.  Life out of a dead world.  That was the Spirit’s purpose in the beginning, and I believe that’s still the purpose of the Holy Spirit today.    

Where we might see just a tangle of challenges and tragedies and barriers and problems – the Spirit brings out the beauty and the newness and the life.  Where we see only darkness and despair, the Spirit brings light and hope. 

There is a song by Brandon Lake and Elevation worship called Graves into Gardens, which I think captures this action of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit “gives beauty for ashes and turns mourning to dancing.”  That has been the work of the Spirit since the very beginning, and He still works in that way in our lives today.  He helps us see past the pain, see around the problems.  Without the work of the Spirit in our lives, we could easily end up stuck, spinning in our failures, shortcomings, and disappointments, which would lead to a hectic, confusing, and fearful life.  But with the Spirit, we can have life and peace and freedom.